


Elemental

by callmecirce, dirtycirce (callmecirce)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Elemental Magic, F/M, mermaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-01-03 22:02:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12155676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmecirce/pseuds/callmecirce, https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmecirce/pseuds/dirtycirce
Summary: Adrien is a fish out of water (literally!) and while he loves living among the humans, he finds himself missing the sea and longing for a closer friend on land.Marinette is an Air mage with a passion for learning her craft--andfor a certain blond-haired student at her University.(Mermaid/elemental mages AU)





	1. Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Freedom_Shamrock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/gifts).



> This story was totally inspired by [artisticFlutter's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticFlutter/pseuds/artisticFlutter) drawing for Smutember Day 12: Fantasy, which was originally posted on her NSFW Tumblr blog, [Freedom and Chance](https://carnalrhythms.tumblr.com/). I got her permission to write a piece inspired by her art, and to repost said art here, for your enjoyment. (I'll post the picture when I get to the scene it will illustrate.) PLEASE head on over to [the original art post](https://carnalrhythms.tumblr.com/post/165280079387/smutember-day-twelve-fantasy-probably-not-what), and give her some love for me, to say THANK YOU for allowing me to share her art!
> 
> Also, this story is a very belated birthday gift to the wonderful, and wonderfully talented, [Freedom_Shamrock](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock)! I hope that this story brings you joy, and reminds you that you bring a great deal of joy to others. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAMROCK!!!! ♡, Circe

Adrien sat alone on the rocky outcropping, absently twisting the deceptively simple ring on his finger as he berated himself for over-sleeping.  If he’d risen before dawn, as he’d intended, he’d have slipped that silver ring from his finger and taken to the sea for a swim.   Now, though, it was just too risky.  It was too late in the morning, and soon, he would no longer be alone on the beach.  His swim would just have to wait until that night, after everyone else had gone home, and gone to bed.

He glanced at his watch and sighed.  There was too little time before class, and far too much time before it would be safe for him to return.  As much as he loved that ring, and the freedom it brought, there were days that he longed to shed its magic and revert to his true form.  If he went too long on his legs, the longing would turn to an ache, and eventually, the ache to a pain.  He chuckled a bit darkly, thinking again of the dark tale he’d discovered after joining the humans on land.  Andersen hadn’t been too far off the mark, actually.  A mermaid—or in his case, a merman—might not feel as if she were walking on knives when she first left the water, but if she kept her legs indefinitely, it certainly would get to that point.

Fortunately for Adrien, he was nowhere near the point of excruciating pain.  He felt only an irritating ache, and an almost magnetic pull to the sea; he could survive both of those things for another day.  

After another glance at his watch, he stood and stretched, prepared to make his way back to the house to get ready for class.  He paused, though, when an incongruous movement in the water caught his eye.  He stopped to watch, thinking that it must be dolphins, and frowned in confusion when he realized that it wasn’t a marine animal at all, but a person.

Was it one of his father’s people?  It had to be.  He wasn’t expecting anyone, and it was foolhardy to be so near the humans at such a time, but it couldn’t be anyone else.  Humans had to _breathe_.

Concerned now, he made his way down from the rocks to the sandy beach, thinking to meet whoever it was in the surf, where they’d be less likely to be recognized for what they were.  Concern turned to absolute shock when he recognized the swimmer, not as someone from his home, but as one of his classmates from the university. 

 _What the hell_?

He stopped at the edge of the surf and watched her make her way up to the beach several meters away, stymied.  It was definitely Marinette.  She was an incredibly beautiful young woman, with shoulder-length blue-black hair and arresting blue eyes, and she was very friendly—with everyone but him.  Around him, she became so shy that he still didn’t know her well, in spite of his efforts to become friends.  

He approached her cautiously, unsure of his welcome. “Marinette?”

She jumped at the sound of his voice and stumbled, falling gracelessly to her hands and knees in the wet sand.  “A-Adrien!”  She pushed herself to her feet, blushing, and awkwardly began trying to brush the sand from her legs.  “Um, hi.”

“Hi.”  He crossed over to her with a hesitant smile, scratching uncomfortably at the back of his head as he tried not to notice how incredible she looked in her bikini with rivulets of water streaming down her skin.  “Shoot, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s—it’s alright.  I wasn’t paying attention, and I think you’ve seen before how madly clumsy I am.”  She gave up on the sand, which clung stubbornly to her wet skin, and glanced at him shyly before looking out at the water.  “I guess I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone out here this early.”

“I was kind of thinking the same thing, actually.  I often come out here in the mornings to, uh, to think.”  He eyed her curiously.  “I don’t usually see anyone else.”

“You—you do?”  She looked back at him, her surprise clearly overriding her shyness.  “I do too.  I’m surprised I’ve never seen you out here before.”  She paused thoughtfully, taking in their surroundings before continuing.  “Though I guess that I don’t usually come this far up the beach.  ”

He smiled, pleased that she was finally talking to him the way she usually did with Alya and Nino.  “I don’t usually come this far down the beach.”

“I guess that explains it, then.”  She returned his smile for a moment, then flushed again and retreated once more into shyness.

He sighed at the loss.  Did she just not like him?  

She cleared her throat, and tugged anxiously at one of her earrings as she took a step back.  “I was just heading back.  You know, to get ready for class.”

“Me, too, actually,” he replied gratefully, taking a step back as well.  “I guess I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“Y-yeah!  Um, bye!”  She flashed him a smile, waving and skipping backward a few steps, then turning to jog down the beach.

He watched her for a moment, then turned back the other direction with a bemused shake of his head.   He made his way back up to the rocks, and from there to the long boardwalk that would take him back to his father’s beach house, mulling over their strange encounter.  Maybe his original impression had been wrong.  Maybe she’d just been swimming parallel to the shore, rather than swimming in from the ocean, and maybe she hadn’t been spending as much time under the water as he’d thought.  After all, humans can’t breathe underwater, and Marinette was human, wasn’t she?

Adrien stopped, staring sightlessly ahead with wide eyes.  What if she wasn’t?  He wasn’t human, and he knew that there were others like him, living anonymously among their human counterparts.  If she were like him…! It would be wonderful, if he could share his secret with someone without fearing their reaction.

He gave his head a shake and continued walking.  He _couldn’t_ assume anything.  But perhaps, he should try again to get to know her better? 

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette jogged all the way back to the place where she’d left her things, her mind in a whirl.  Of all the people to run into out here, it just _had_ to have been Adrien!  She scooped up her towel with a groan, and dried the last of the water from her skin.

The breeze giggled at her, and she glared toward the sound.  “You _would_ think it was funny, Tikki.” She stuffed her towel into her bag and shook out the loose dress she always wore over her bathing suit for the walk to the beach as the breeze brushed her cheek with another giggle.

“Of course I do!”  A pair of laughing blue eyes materialized out of the air, followed by an impish smile, and the rest of her face, until the little red Air elemental was completely visible.  “You’ve been trying to talk to him for ages, Marinette!  And now you’ve had a whole conversation with him, all on your own!” 

Marinette paused in pulling her dress over her body, and smiled dreamily.  “I did, didn’t I?”

Tikki spun happily in the air.  “You did!”

She sighed happily, then groaned with renewed distress and finished pulling her dress down.  “But Tikki, what if he had _seen_?”

“Oh Marinette, you worry too much.  What if he had?  What could he possibly have thought, other than that you were going for an early morning swim?”

“Well, yeah, but _most_ people have to actually come up for air.  You’re the only reason that I don’t.”  She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked the short distance to where her bike leaned lazily against the fence.  “What if he saw enough to start asking questions?  I can’t have questions, Tikki!”

“It’ll be fine, Marinette.  I promise!”  The little sprite faded back to invisibility with a lingering smile, reminding Marinette as she so often did of the Cheshire Cat.  Then the smile, too, was gone, and the wind swept past Marinette, lifting her drying hair from her face and ruffling her dress encouragingly.

“I know, I know.  I’m going.”  Marinette smiled fondly, knowing that the sprite was still nearby, and walked her bike to the path and began the short trip back to the apartment she shared with Alya, several blocks away.

Once there, she put her bike away and raced upstairs to get showered and changed for school, waving to Alya in the kitchen on the way by.  Twenty minutes later saw both girls on the bus, headed to the main campus of the [Aix-Marseille University](https://www.univ-amu.fr/en/university) —Marinette, to go to class, and Alya, to meet her boyfriend before their classes began.

As Marinette sat licking the buttery remnants of a croissant from her fingers, Alya nudged her shoulder with a grin.

“You know, M, I will never get over the fact that you have actually started getting up early every single morning, and you still manage to be running behind every single morning.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, accepting the teasing as a normal part of their morning routine.  “Ha ha, Alya.  You know you wouldn’t know what to do with me if I weren’t late.”

“Probably not,” she laughed.  “You were even later than normal this morning, though, weren’t you?”

Marinette cringed, knowing she was blushing.  “Yeah, a bit,” she hedged, hoping not to get into it. 

Alya’s brows rose, and her gaze sharpened.  “I know that look, M.  Spill.”

 She sighed.  She really should have known better.   “I kind of…ran into Adrien?”

“ _What_?  Seriously?  Was he alone?”  Marinette nodded helplessly, and Alya hooted in excitement.  “Girl, you were holding out on me!”

“Ugh, Alya, nothing happened!  We just…talked.  A little.  And it was awkward, and maybe a little weird, and then we both left to head home.  It was _nothing_.”

“Girl.  You ‘talked’?  As in a conversation?  That is totally something!”  Her eyes widened, then narrowed suspiciously.  “And you weren’t going to tell me about it, were you?”

“I was,” she protested weakly.  “Eventually.”

“Mm-hmm,”  Alya hummed through pursed lips.  “Sure you were.”

“I was!  Just, not until tonight, when we could sit and talk it over without interruption.”

“Ahh, I see.”  She sat back with a smirk and crossed her arms over her chest.  “You were going to tell me when it was too late for me to corner Adrien on the Green and ask him about your little tête-à-tête.”

“Maybe.”  Marinette ducked her head guiltily, but she was smiling.  “But in my defense, you _are_ kind of a force of nature.”

“I got you, girl, don’t you worry.”

The bus slowed to a stop, causing Marinette to bump gently into Alya, and both girls stood to exit.  “Somehow, Alya, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Alya followed her off of the bus with a ringing laugh, and the two friends waved to one another as they headed in different directions.

Marinette hitched her bag up higher on her shoulder, and tried not to let herself worry over Alya’s interference.  Alya would be Alya, she had Marinette’s best interests at heart, and the worst she might suffer was a bit of embarrassment.  She could deal with that.

Marinette reached the door to her classroom, and settled herself on the stone bench just outside the door to await her instructor.  With a deliberate effort, Marinette pushed her worries aside, and began to prepare herself mentally for the lesson to come.

She’d ostensibly come to the renowned Aix-Marseille University to study in their Arts program, and she was.  But more importantly, she’d come to participate in their Elemental Master’s program, to hone her inherent Air magic. 

Not everyone knew about that particular track of study, of course.  Not everyone was an elemental mage, and those who _were_ made it a point to hide their magic from those who _weren’t_.  The lesson had been very well learned, and reinforced multiple times over the ages.  The Inquisition in Spain, the witch hunts in the States, the persecution of the Celts in Britain…the examples were too numerous to count, and contemporary mages took those lessons to heart.

Of course, not all of them were uptight about it.  For some, it was a game they played, to hide in plain sight.  J.K. Rowling was one such mage, and her _Harry Potter_ series was just as popular among the magical set as it was among the “muggles”.  Perhaps even more so, because it carried the added bonus of being an inside joke for those in the know.

Marinette fell mostly into the second group of magic wielders; she loved things like Harry Potter, and she certainly wasn’t ashamed of her magic, but she was terrified of making a mistake that would expose herself, her family, and even their whole community to the wider world.  That fear was, in large part, responsible for her presence at this school.  Her mother was a Fire mage of middling power, and her father was an Air mage with minimal power.  Their power combination was ideal for running a bakery—Tom’s sylphs and sprites ensured that their breads all rose perfectly, and maintained a proper air flow in the ovens, while Sabine’s Fire salamanders kept the ovens at the perfect temperature, ensuring that all of their baked goods came out, well, perfectly.    Combine that with well-loved recipes that had been handed down for generations, and it was easy to see why the Dupain-Cheng store flourished. 

Unfortunately, though, Marinette’s Air magic far outstripped her parents’ powers and she’d exhausted what they could teach her by the time she reached lycée.  She had a Master’s power, and she required a Master to teach her.  And so, when she chose her University, she considered attending the Paris ESMOD only briefly before choosing a school for its’ arcane renown rather than its Arts program.  The choice baffled her friends, but her parents supported the choice wholeheartedly and Marinette was far more at peace with her powers, knowing that she would finally be learning to control them fully.

Marinette heard a key turning in the lock, and opened her eyes to greet Mme. Piers warmly.

“Good morning, Marinette,” the woman returned.  “Are you ready?”

She nodded eagerly, and felt Tikki sweep them both in an excited eddy of air.

“All right then,” Mme. Piers said, laughing.  “Come along, both of you.”

Marinette eagerly followed the Air master into the warded workroom, and Tikki blew in behind them, pulling the door closed behind her.


	2. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien sets out to see Marinette at the beach again the next morning, and finds a bit more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks guys for the positive feed back on the first chapter! I'm excited for this story, and it is such a boost to know that ya'll are, too. I'm hoping to keep working at this while the inspiration is strong, and I'm thinking it will end up being around 5 chapters or so. But--hey, I'm making it up as I go, so, who knows??

When Marinette’s alarm went off the following morning, she hit the snooze and rolled over with a groan, pulling her pillow over her face as she went.  She fell back into blissful slumber almost immediately, just as she always did, but it only lasted for another five minutes before her alarm went off again.

An arm snaked out from beneath the comforter, and she fumbled with clumsy fingers to silence her phone once more.

“Ah ah, Marinette,” the invisible Tikki giggled, gusting up from the floor to lift the comforter and send gooseflesh rippling over the girl’s skin.  “If you don’t get up, you won’t have time for your morning session!”

“Ack, Tikki!”  Marinette shrieked, shivering.  “Is that really necessary?”

“No, but it’s fun,” she chortled, coalescing into her favorite form.  “And more importantly, it’s effective.”

“Ugh, I guess.”  Marinette rolled herself out of bed and stomped grumpily to the kitchen for a light breakfast, knowing that it would help wake her up a bit and that she’d need the sustenance for her morning “workout”.  Then she returned to her room, changed into her swim suit, and gathered her things to head to the beach.

By the time she was on her bike, riding away from her apartment building in the chill light of early dawn, she felt less like a zombie and more like a human being.  It wasn’t until she’d shed her dress and slipped into the chilly water that she came fully awake.  She spent the first several minutes getting used to the water and doing a bit of swimming, warming her muscles and clearing her mind.

On this particular morning, she was feeling sluggish and she spent more time that usual swimming lazily and playing in the surf.  A sharp breeze swept over the water, carrying with it an impatient _huff_ , and blowing Marinette’s hair into her mouth. “Alright, Tikki!”  She spat the offending strands away with a laugh, and moved back in to stand about waist-deep in the water.  “Alright! You’re ready then?”

The deceptively small elemental faded into view, bobbing her head.  “I am!”

Marinette grinned.  “Well then, spots on.” 

At the command, the elemental spun herself into a tiny whirlwind, sweeping around Marinette several times before whirling into the simple moonstone earrings and imbuing them with the same coloring she herself usually bore. 

Those earrings had been especially enchanted just for Marinette back in collége, when it became clear that Tikki had essentially adopted the young mage.  The earrings allowed her to physically bond with Marinette, twining their magic together to augment her powers and control, and it was the only reason that Marinette had made it through lycée without losing control of her burgeoning power or being stripped of that power by an unscrupulous mage or elemental. 

That protection turned out to be vital.  Magic attracts magic, and as the living embodiments of magic, elementals are irresistibly drawn to the mages who wield it.  Stronger mages attracted stronger elementals, and since not all elementals are benevolent, their interest sometimes leads to bad ends for the mages involved.  Fortunately for Marinette, whose latent power was great indeed, the kind-hearted Tikki had been the first to find her.  As one of the oldest and most powerful Air elementals in existence, her obvious attachment to the girl had protected her from the other elementals and mages who might have harmed her.

Now, Tikki was an active participant in Marinette’s arcane education, and worked with her every morning as she went through her daily exercises, practicing those things she learned from Master Piers.  They’d chosen the deserted beach as their venue for this practice, as there was nothing around to destroy and no one around to get hurt if Marinette’s wards failed.  They’d only discovered by accident that their bond essentially allowed Marinette to breathe underwater, and thus her exercises took on an entirely new facet: training her Air magic from **within** another Element, which increased both the complexity and difficulty of the tasks.

It was grueling work, and it often left Marinette feeling as if she’d spent the day doing hard manual labor, but it was worth it to be making such rapid progress with her magic.  And so, with Tikki’s power wrapped around her like a mantle, Marinette swam out beyond the breakers and dove well beneath the surface of the ocean to begin working.

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien did _not_ hit the snooze button that morning.  When it went off, he rolled to his back with a sleepy sigh—until he remembered his plan to look for Marinette at the beach.  Then he all but launched himself out of bed, banging on his large saltwater aquarium with the side of his fist on his way to the bathroom.

He came out several minutes later in him swim trunks, and banged on the glass once more.

“Come on Plagg, stop being lazy and wake up.”

There was a garbled grumbling from inside the small overturned trashcan in the tank, and a pair of glowing green eyes blinked open to scowl at Adrien. “ _Why should I_?”

Adrien sat on his bed to slide on his shoes, unperturbed by the voice in his mind.  He was as used to speaking telepathically as he was to verbal speech. “Because I’m going for a swim this morning, and I want you with me.”

The eyes blinked twice, slowly, and a few stray bubbles rose from the plastic cave.  Clearly, the cantankerous elemental was unimpressed with this reason.

“Fine.” Adrien rolled his eyes.  He should have just led with bribery. “I will let you eat whatever you want when we get back.”

The eyes narrowed.  “ _Camembert_?”

He stood and crossed to the tank, frowning in impatience.  “Whatever you want, Plagg.” 

A dark, amorphous shadow oozed out of its hiding place, and hovered in the water, looking like an inky cross between an eel and a cat.  “ _I’ll hold you to it, fish boy_.” 

Adrien stuck his hand in the water and jiggled his fist in front of the strange creature, brandishing the silver band. “Just get in the ring.”

“ _This had better be worth it._ ”  Plagg oozed into the ring, turning it black.

“Quit complaining.”  Adrien dried his hand on the towel over his shoulder as he left the house, and looked at the strange green glyph on the ring.  “I’ll be at the beach soon, and you can get out of there.”

Adrien got a sense of grudging assent from the ring, and shrugged.  He was used to Plagg’s prickly personality.  The ancient elemental had been hanging around Adrien for as long as he could remember, and while he insisted that he felt no attachment to Adrien one way or another, he also showed no inclination to leave.  Sometimes, his presence was just annoying, but mostly, Adrien was glad to have him around—especially after moving to the surface world.

As a Water elemental, Plagg could not be out of contact with the water for very long, but it was rarely a problem, given the abundance of water in the world.  No, the problem arose when Adrien encountered other people.  Hiding in the ring allowed Plagg to travel with Adrien without being seen.  And if someone noticed the difference in his ring?  It just looked like he was wearing an entirely different ring.

Really, when it came down to it, the greatest difficulty was just getting him into the ring.

Adrien sighed in fond exasperation, then let thoughts of his elemental companion drift away.  They were replaced almost immediately by his thoughts—and doubts—about Marinette.

He wanted to see her again, to _talk_ to her again, and he was hoping that he’d have as much success today as he’d had the day before.  It was possible that it had been a fluke, and that she’d be just as tongue-tied today as she always was.  It was also possible that he wouldn’t see her at all.  He had no idea if she was out here every day, and even if she was, he had no idea how far up the beach she’d come yesterday.

But, he had to try—to see if they could be friends, and to see if she was just the early morning swimmer that she seemed.  Maybe he could walk down far enough to run into her again, and maybe there was something about being at the beach that was as liberating for her as it was for him. Either way, he was willing to put off his swim for another day, to find out.

As it turned out, though, he did see her, and before he’d gone too much further than he normally ranged.  He grinned, and picked up his pace, wanting to get a bit closer before calling his greeting.  But then something strange happened, and his steps slowed. 

“Alright, Tikki,” she called, laughing as she pulled hair away from her face and moved into more shallow water, her voice carrying clearly to him on the wind in spite of the remaining distance between them. 

Adrien looked around her in confusion, but saw no one.  Who was she talking to? 

“Alright! You’re ready then?”

A tiny red creature appeared out of the air and nodded at Marinette, and Adrien stopped walking entirely. 

“I am,” the little elemental said.

“Well then, spots on.” 

She spoke the words softly, but Adrien heard them anyway.  He watched, dumbfounded, as the little creature—an Air elemental?—began to whirl around Marinette, churning the water at her hips.  Then the whirlwind contracted, disappearing into her once muted gray earrings and turning them a bright scarlet.

When it was gone, Marinette dove straight into the water and disappeared entirely from view, leaving Adrien to gape after her with a hundred new questions burning in his mind.

“Well, that was interesting _._ ”

“Plagg!”  Adrien turned to see that the elemental had left the confines of his ring, and for once had fully coalesced into his solid form.  This time, he looked far less like an eel and more like a bobble-headed kitten.  It was a weird shape for a water elemental, of all things, but Plagg had decided shortly after moving from the ocean to Marseille that he _liked_ cats, in spite of their aversion to water.  He said that they were ‘assholes after his own heart,’ and from that point on, had begun incorporating feline characteristics into his form.    “You saw that?”

Plagg nodded, looking uncharacteristically thoughtful as he gazed at the water where she’d disappeared.  “Is she why you brought me out here?”

 “Well, yeah, but I had no idea that she—I mean, what was that?  What did I just see?”

“Your little friend is an Air Master, kid,” he replied, gesturing toward where she’d been. 

Adrien looked from Plagg to the water.  “So that _was_ an Air elemental with her.”

“That was not just any Air elemental, kid,” he scoffed, drawing Adrien’s attention back to him.  “That was Tikki.  She’s just as old as I am, and just as powerful.  If the girl caught Tik’s attention, then she is going to be an uncommonly powerful mage.”

Adrien felt himself pale at that.  He had some mastery of Water, just by merit of being a creature of the Water.  But an Air Master?  What if she was angry that he’d discovered her?

“Hey, don’t wet yourself, kid.  Tikki’s the one who carried their voices down here, so that you could hear what was said.  She wanted you to find out.  Besides, the girl still has a long way to go before she actually masters her power.”  He paused, looking thoughtful again.  “They’re probably out here practicing.”

Adrien blinked at that.  “Practicing Air magic?  Underwater?”

“It’s no different from you practicing Water magic on land.  It’s more challenging, but doable.”

“Huh.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go watch.”

“What?  Plagg, no!  Oh, you little shit, come back here!”

But, it was too late.  Plagg had already disappeared into the water, and Adrien had little choice but to follow him, to try to mitigate whatever mischief he got into.  With a sigh, he stripped off his clothes and stacked his things neatly next to Marinette’s, and then strode naked into the comforting waters of the sea.

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette hovered weightlessly in the open sea, concentrating on the miniature cyclone she was trying to maintain.  This was an exercise she’s mastered—on land.  She was supposed to create the cyclone, stabilize it, and then feed it power to slowly increase its size and strength.  Then, she was supposed to reverse the process, shrinking it until all but dissipated. 

Lather, rinse, repeat.

She had no trouble with it when she was in the warded work room on campus, but underwater, with all of the constantly moving currents?  It was a completely different beast, and she struggled even with the initial stabilization.  She bit her lip as the cyclone wobbled, marshaling all the control that she could bring to bear, but it still fell apart completely.

“ ** _Argh_** , _Tikki, I just can’t get this_!” Marinette “said”, mentally pushing the thoughts to Tikki, just as she’d been taught.

“ _Yes you can, Marinette!  You just have to be patient with yourself_ ,” Tikki replied, using the same form of communication. 

It had taken some time for her to get used to hearing Tikki’s voice inside her head, rather than through her ears, but it had finally gotten to be second nature for her.  She shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to re-center herself.  “ _Ok, let’s try this again_.”

“ _Or, you could ditch studying and talk to me_ ,” came a new voice in her head, startling her into an actual shriek.  She wanted to panic, but the emotions coming from Tikki were things like satisfaction and excitement, so instead of thrashing in the water, she forced herself to look around calmly and only recoiled a little when she saw the green-eyed, oily-looking eel…thing…pulsing nearby.

“ _It’s alright, Marinette.  That’s Plagg, an old friend of mine_.  _Why don’t you head to the surface?”_

Marinette waved awkwardly at him, and then pointed up, to where the early morning sun lit the shifting surface of the water.

“ _Sure thing, sweetheart_.”  He jerked his head in a nod, then began to float upwards.  “ _See you up there_.”

Marinette kicked her legs, and used a little _push_ of magic to propel herself up after him.  When she broke the surface, she began to tread water, wiping the water out of her eyes and pushing her hair back from her face.  Plagg, she saw, had turned into a little sprite very much like Tikki, except that he was all black where she was red with large black spots, and was floating lazily on the water. 

She flashed him a strained smile.  “I’m good now, Tikki.  Spots off.”

Tikki left the earrings in a rush of air, and swept around to lift Plagg in a tiny cyclone of air.  She appeared out of the whirlwind, with her little red arms wrapped around his body, and still spinning them in the air.

“Ugh, Tik, you’re going to make me air sick.”

She released him with a giggle, and he floated back down to the water with his tiny paws behind his head.  “You don’t get air sick any more than I get sea sick, Plagg.”

“Eh, whatever.”  He waved a paw dismissively, then tucked it back behind his head, looking like he was lounging on a pool float.  “So, Bug, I see you found yourself a new mage.”

Tikki clapped her paws excitedly.  “Yes, Marinette!  She’s wonderful.”

“Um, I’m still here,” Marinettte interjected, frowning.  “What happened to your last mage?”

“She **died** ,” Plagg said, sitting up on the water and widening his eyes dramatically.

Marinette looked at Tikki with wide eyes.  “Wait, what?” 

“Yes, she died.”  Tikki rolled her eyes.  “At home in bed, at the age of 83.”

“Oh.”  Marinette blinked.  “That’s okay.”

Plagg huffed, and his little cat ears flattened against his head.  “You’re no fun, Tik.”

“Hey, Tikki?  If we’re going to keep chatting, I need to head in.  I can’t just tread water here forever, especially if I’m swimming back in on my own.”

“Oh!  Of course, Marinette.”  She shot Plagg a sly look, and floated closer to him.  “I think Plagg knows someone who could help you get back, if you needed it.”

Plagg barked a laugh.  “And they say I’m the devious one,” he quipped, ginning.

Marinette looked between them, confused.  “What did I miss?”

Tikki said nothing, and only held her hand out expectantly.

“Sly Bug,” Plagg muttered, chuckling.  Louder, he said, “It’s alright, kid.  Come meet my new friends.”

“Seriously guys, what—oh!”  Marinette cut herself off abruptly as a wet mop of gold curls popped up from the water, followed by a matching set of eyebrows, and a familiar set of piercing emerald green eyes.   “ **Adrien** _?_ ” she asked, incredulous.

He rose a little higher in the water, exposing the rest of his face, and smiled sheepishly.  “Um, hi?”

Marinette’s brain short-circuited, and she moved away from him in a blind panic.  “No.  No no no no no no nononononono, you can’t be here!”

“Marinette?  What’s wrong?”

“Ah, um, nothing!  I’m fine.  This is fine.  Perfectly normal, right?  Just a normal morning swim.  But, I’m done now, and I have to go and—”

“Marinette!  Marinette, stop!  Look at me!”  Tikki got right in her face, drawing her focus.  “Marinette, you have to breathe.   **Breathe**.  It will be okay, Marinette.  I promise.”

“B-but I—and-and-and you, and he _saw_ —”

“Ha!  Looks like you broke her, kid.”

“ **Shut up, Plagg**!”  Adrien and Tikki said together, and Plagg snorted in delight.

Adrien swam closer to her, and gripped her biceps gently.  “Marinette, hey.  Look at me.”  Her wide, frightened eyes met his, and he finally realized what was wrong.  “You’re worried that I’m going to freak out and expose you, aren’t you?”

She nodded slowly.  “Are—are you not freaking out?”

“No,” he scoffed, rubbing his thumbs over her arms. “I’m not freaking out.  I ah, I’ve actually got a secret of my own.”

Relief cascaded over her features, and she began to relax.  “You’re a mage, too?”

“Um, no?  I mean, well…”  He scrunched one side of his face, and tilted his head back and forth undecidedly.   “Sort of.  But…there’s a bit more to it than that.”

Plagg popped up over his shoulder to grin at her.  “What he’s trying to say, sweetheart, is that he’s half fish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed it, please don't be afraid to leave a comment to share your thoughts. I eat 'em up. ♡


	3. Merman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette takes the news surprisingly well--more or less--and our heroes get a bit closer to one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I can't leave this story alone. It's like I'm reading a book, and I really, really want to know what happens next--except that I can't, until I write it. So. Have a third chapter in as many days. I can't promise to keep up this pace, and in fact, I can pretty much promise that I won't. But I hope you enjoy it while it lasts!

Marinette blinked.  “Half…fish?”

Adrien’s eyes slid closed, and he took a slow, deep breath through his nose.  “Plagg, I swear, I am going to abandon you to the Nereids.”

“No you won’t.”  Plagg shrugged.  “You were going to spend all day swimming around it.  I saved you from yourself.”

“Wait-wait-wait, ‘half fish’?  As in—”

Adrien opened his eyes and sheepishly held up one hand, displaying the pale green webbing stretched between his fingers, as well as the narrow fin along his forearm, and hoping fervently that she wouldn’t be repulsed.  “Merman.”

Marinette’s eyes went round, riveted on his hand, and her mouth formed a perfect O of surprise.  Then her eyes moved slowly down his arm to the bend of his elbow, and then up, up to his shoulder, to his face.  She saw now the details she’d missed in her initial panic: the sheen of iridescent scales at his jaw and down his neck, the delicate points of his ears…the pronounced points of his teeth.

She felt a frisson of fear dance down her spine, until his eyes caught hers, and she saw in them the same gentle spirit that had always been there. 

“ **Merman** ,” she breathed, wonderingly. He still looked like himself, but he was also very clearly something exotic, something **other**.  Somehow, because of that, he was even more beautiful now than she’d ever seen him before.  And considering how brain-meltingly attractive he’d been to begin with, that was saying something.

She raised her hand to touch him, but stopped with her fingers hovering just centimeters from his skin, blushing hotly.  “May I?”

He nodded mutely, pulling her closer to help support her in the water with a hand at her elbow, and she saw with a feeling of relief that he was blushing, too.  Somehow, that grounded her, and her fingers shook only a little as she ran them down the webbing between his splayed fingers. He shuddered at the touch, though, and she withdrew her hand quickly.

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright,” he said, his blush deepening. “I’m just, ah, not used to being touched.  Go ahead.”

Marinette frowned at that, but took his hand in hers, and ran her other hand over the fin on his arm, pressing the jade green spines down along his skin.  “You’re warm,” she said, in some surprise.  Every fish she’d ever touched, on the rare occasions when she’d been fishing, had been cold and a little slimy.

He chuckled.  “I’m not actually a fish.  I’m warm-blooded, like you.”

“Oh.”  She touched the iridescent scales on his arm along the fin, noting the way they faded from green, at the base of the fin, to almost clear further out, where the scales gave way to normal skin.

“I guess this is your first time, meeting one of my people?”

She jerked her hand away, blushing again, and nodded.  “There aren’t many mermaids in Paris.”

He laughed.  “No, I bet there aren’t.  It would be **fishy** if there were.”

“Oh my god,” she groaned, swimming backward a bit, and he released her.  “Did you just pun?  On purpose?”

“Is there any way to do it, except on **porpoise**?”

Plagg snickered, but she groaned again.  “Ugh.  That’s it.  I’m leaving.”

“What?  Oh come on, Marinette, don’t you like puns?”  She heard him swimming after her, and he caught up with her easily.  “We can’t be **fronds** , if you don’t.”

“You’re terrible,” she huffed, panting with exertion.

“Terribly funny.”  He frowned, then, and swam in front of her.  “Hey, wait a minute.  Why don’t you let me bring you in?”

She bristled and the implication that she couldn’t do it herself.  “I can make it in on my own.”

“I know you **can** , but do you really want to?”  Her frown eased, and he forged ahead.  “You’ve been treading water for a long time, and practicing your magic before that.  I **know** you’re exhausted.  Please let me help you?”

Her legs **were** aching, and even the thought of fighting the surf all the way back was enough to make her feel weary.  “All right.”

He grinned at her, and she felt the force of that smile down to her toes.  Had she ever seen him really smile before?

“Here, just hold on to me, and I’ll have you back up there in no time at all.” 

He held his arms out like he was waiting for a hug, and her eyes widened in dismay when she realized what she’d actually just agreed to.  With a gulp, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and felt his left arm wrap around her body, holding her close.  She had only a moment to process that, though, before they shot ahead.  She tightened her hold on him and closed her eyes, trying not to think of anything at all.

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien held his arms out to her invitingly, and her eyes went wide for a moment before moving to wrap her arms around him.  He wondered at her reaction, until he felt her slick skin press against him down the length of his body.  **Then** he understood.

At that point there was nothing for it but to wrap his arm around her waist as clinically as possible, and carry her back to the beach.

He’d never done anything like that before.  There were just as many humans in his home-city of Meriton as there were mer-people in Paris--which is to say, none-- and to all of the humans he’d met in Marseille he was just as human as they.  The need, the **opportunity** , had never arisen.   Now, the experience was both far too brief and far too lasting. 

Adrien’s mother had disappeared when he was still very young.  His father was a reserved man, dedicated to his work, and he had withdrawn further after losing the woman who had apparently been the love of his life.  Most of the others in his life were his father’s employees, and though he saw both Nathalie and Gorile as a part of his family, they insisted on maintaining a professional distance.  The only one he’d known who had ever shown him any physical affection was Chloé, and her clinging attention had had only been stifling.   

Marinette’s touch felt different.  She wasn’t being paid for her interactions with him, like Nathalie and Gorile.  She wasn’t hoping to gain something from their acquaintance, playing on his wealth and fame, like Chloé. To Marinette, he was just Adrien, and he knew from her wide-eyed blush that she was just as affected as he.

When she’d gently stroked the membranes of his hand, the sensation had rocked him.  He’d been able to control his reaction after that, but each touch of her hand was no less intense than the first had been and he’d felt them to his core.  Those sensations, coupled with the unveiled wonder and appreciation and unconditional acceptance in her gaze, had nearly undone him.

Somehow, he’d forgotten all about that in the teasing that followed. In his desire to help her, he’d given no thought to what that help would entail.  Now, moving through the water with her arms around his neck and his hand on the curve of her hip, he could think of nothing else.   Her body scalded him where they touched, and her breath felt like a caress on his neck every time she exhaled. He never wanted to let her go, while at the same time, he could not wait to reach the shore so that he could re-establish the space between them, and regain his equilibrium. He was afraid of his reaction to her, afraid of the strength of his attraction.  He needed time, away from her, to process it.

Fortunately for his state of mind, it took only a few minutes and very little effort for him to make a swim that would have taken her three times as long.  When he felt his fin brush sand, he stopped and pulled his arm from her waist to rest his hand gently at her hip.  “Is this close enough?”

“Yeah, this is fine.”  She let him go and swam backwards, toward the shore, until she could touch the bottom.  “Aren’t you coming in?”

“Er, yeah, hang on a minute.”  Adrien’s hands went to the long leather thong around his neck, and pulled it off over his head to unloop it from around his ring.  He stopped, though, with the ring only half way on, and looked at her in acute embarrassment.  “Ah, maybe you ought to go on without me.”

“Oh—kay.”  Her brow furrowed, either in confusion or concern; he wasn’t sure which.  “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.  I just, ah, I need my legs back and I’m not—I mean, my pants are—gods, this is awkward.”

“Oh.” Marinette’s eyes lit with understanding, and she flushed crimson right to the roots of her hair. “Oh!  You’re—you aren’t wearing any—um, right.  I’ll just…I’ll be going.”  She took a step back, buffeted by a rolling wave, and then stopped, flicking her eyes downward. 

He smirked, in spite of his own discomfort at the situation.  “There’s nothing to see at the moment.”

“No!  I wasn’t—well, I did, but I didn’t—oh, bloody hell.  I’m leaving.  Now.”  She took a few awkward steps back, still blushing furiously, and then turned with a wave, calling back over her shoulder, “I’ll just—I’ll just see you later!” 

He waited until she was completely out of the water before replacing his ring on his finger, allowing the magic to remold his body into that of a human male in a flash of green light.  To his chagrin, his, ah, **interest** in her was far more evident in this form than it was with his tail, but it couldn’t be helped.  He stayed where he was, treading water, until she waved from the beach and disappeared from view on her bike.  Only then did he move in to the shore, to pull on his shorts and gather his own things. 

“So, I think that went well.” 

Adrien glanced at Plagg, who had appeared at his elbow, as he struggled to pull his shorts up over his wet skin.  “You would.”

“She didn’t freak out over you being a fish.”

“I’m not a fish.” He grabbed his towel and began rubbing at his hair, drying it.

Plagg shrugged.  “Nuance.  And you’re avoiding the point.” 

He tossed his towel over his shoulder, slid his feet into his sandals, and glared at Plagg.  “What **is** the point, then?” 

“I’m just saying, she’s a human, and she knows that you’re **not** a human, and she isn’t freaking out.”

“I know she’s not freaking out, Plagg.  But maybe I am, a little bit.  Alright?”  He ran his hands through his wet, disheveled hair.  “Just, get in the ring, please, so we can go back.”

“Don’t forget my Camembert.”

“You are so weird.”

“I’m serious.”

“Elementals don’t eat.  Why do you eat?”

“Try me.”  Plagg crossed his arms over his chest, and looked pointedly at Adrien.  “I will abandon **you** to your fan club.”

Adrien shuddered.  “There’s no need to be cruel, Plagg.  You’ll get your dumb stinky cheese.  **Please** get in the ring?”

“Fine.”

Plagg got in the ring.

 

* * *

 

 

“Tikki, I’m freaking out.”

“Don’t freak out, Marinette!  What is there to freak out about?”

“Oh, I don’t know.”  Marinette threw her hands in the air dramatically, and plopped down on the side of her bed.  “How about, the guy I’ve been practically in love with now knows that I’m a mage and, oh by the way, he’s also actually a merman? Like, how does that even work?”

“Marinette—” Tikki began, but Marinette just kept right on talking.

“Or, what about the fact that my best friend is a natural-born investigator and she is going to KNOW something is up and how am I going to keep this from her?  I mean, it’s one thing for her to know about my magic, but this?  It’s not my secret to tell!  And I know he must guard his as closely as I guard mine!  She’s going to find out, and then she’s going to say something to him, and then he’s going to hate me and oh my god, what if there’s some kind of treaty between his people and mine?  I’ll be violating some kind of international code, and I’ll be arrested and—”

“Marinette, stop!”  Tikki got in her face again and squeezed the end of her nose, causing her to stop her tirade and close her mouth with a snap.  “Deep breaths, Marinette.  You need to relax, and take one thing at a time.”

Marinette blew out a long breath, and smiled weakly.  “You’re right.  I can handle this.  One thing at a time.” 

“Exactly.  Get through your classes first, and then we can deal with the rest.”

“Class!”  Marinette shot up in a panic, and began scrambling to gather her things.  “ _Merde_ , Tikki, I’m going to be late!”

“At least today is one of your later days,” Tikki giggled.  “If this was a Workshop day, you’d have missed it entirely.”

“I know, but I’m still running late!  Bye!”  She flew out of the apartment, down the stairs, and to the bus stop on the corner, where Alya was sitting with her phone in her hand.

“I’m here!  I made it!”

“You’re ridiculous.”  Alya looked up at her with sparkling eyes, and tucked her phone into her bag.  “You didn’t even have time to brush your hair, did you?”

Marinette winced, and Alya winced with her.  “Ah, no.  I think I’m lucky that I got the shower.”

“Want me to do something with it?  I’ve got a couple of hair ties in my bag.”

“Yes, **please** ,” she replied, nodding fervently.  “It’s going to make me nuts if it stays down like this.” 

“You got it.”  Alya stood and shouldered her bag, nodding at the approaching bus. “After we get on the bus.”

They stood quietly with the two other passengers waiting for the bus, and climbed on when it had stopped and the doors hissed open.  They found a pair of unoccupied seats near the front, and once they were seated, Alya turned without a word and began finger-combing Marinette’s hair.

Marinette sighed happily, enjoying the feel of Alya’s fingers against her scalp.  “I should have you do that way more often than you do.”

“You always say that,” Alya chuckled softly.  “You know, we should have a sleepover this weekend.”

“What?”  Marinette turned to look at her friend as if she’d gone crazy.  “We live in the same apartment.”

“Yeah, but when was the last time we did the whole sleepover **thing**?”  She put her hand on the top of Marinette’s head and turned her back around.  “We could put on our favorite PJs and stay up all night, watching movies and eating pizza and playing dumb games.”

Marinette laughed.  “Make those video games, and I’m in.”

“You got it, babe.”  She stopped to dig around in her bag, and produced two black hair elastics.  “What do you think, M, pig tails?”

“Sure, why not?”  She grinned as Alya split her hair into two sections, and began wrapping an elastic around one.  “It’ll be just like we’re in collége again, what with the pig tails and the sleepovers.” 

“Yeah, but just think, M.”  Alya gathered the other section into a neat tail and tied it back as well.  “This time, we can invite boys!”

“Oh, no,” Marinette protested, flushing.  “Aaal-yaaa, no!”

“Alya, yes!  I’ll talk to Nino, and you can talk to Adrien.  It’ll be awesome!”

“No, I’m serious, Alya.”  She put her hand on Alya’s arm, pleading.  “Don’t talk to Nino yet.  Not until I get a chance to talk to you again, later.”

“What, did you run into Adrien again this morning?”

“I **did**.  And I will tell you all about it, I promise, just wait until later, okay?”

“Alright girl, settle down.  I’ll wait.”  She frowned, searching Marinette’s expression.  “You’re okay, right?  Like, he didn’t do something to—”

“No!  No, nothing like that.  I just—I actually need to talk to him again, and then I’ll tell you everything.  Deal?”

Alya nodded, satisfied that Adrien didn’t need pummeling.  “Deal.”

The rest of the ride passed with idle chatter about classes, coursework, and harmless gossip.  They parted ways at the campus bus stop with a smile and a wave, and Marinette headed to her first class of the day. 

It was Thursday, which meant that she had two long classes back to back and then she was done for the day.  Normally, she would spend her afternoon studying, or working on a design project, but today she was hoping to spend it with Adrien, asking questions and filling in some holes.  To do that, though, would mean getting in touch with him to see if he could meet her. 

Marinette stopped outside her classroom, propped her shoulder against the wall and pulled her phone from her bag, staring at it as if it might bite her.

She had his number, of course.  He’d gotten to be good friends with Nino in the two years since they’d all started their studies at AMU, and the four of them—Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien—often did things together as a group.  But she had never communicated with him directly, or tried to hang out with him apart from the group.  Even after their encounter that morning, texting him felt like a big step.

Still, it was necessary.  She blew out a breath and brought up his contact information, pausing only for a moment before tapping the icon for a text message.  Once there, though, she froze.  What should she say?   ‘I need to talk to you’ sounded dire, and ‘can you meet me for coffee’ sounded like a date.  Wasn’t there a happy medium in there somewhere?

She turned, resting both shoulders against the wall behind her, and let her head fall back.  How could a girl ask her crush to hang out with her, without making it sound like a date?  Was that even possible?

Her phone chimed in her hand, startling her from her thoughts, and she jumped.

She straightened from the wall and opened her phone again, and found that Adrien had beaten her to the punch. 

 **Adrien:**   _Hey!  We didn’t really get to finish talking earlier.  Would you want to get coffee this afternoon_?

She giggled, grateful that they were apparently on the same wavelength, and sent her reply off quickly before heading in to class.


	4. Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien get together in the afternoon to talk things over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you, readers! Have 4100 words!

Adrien let himself into the beach house with his mind still buzzing.  He’d been trying to sort through what had happened, and how he felt about it all, the whole way back but he felt no more settled now than he had when he left the beach.

Inside, he went about the normal tasks of getting ready for his Workshop with Master Lamiere.  He threw his towel into the laundry room.  He dipped his hand into his aquarium, allowing Plagg to ooze straight from the ring down into his favorite haunt, without needing to fully coalesce.  He plugged his phone in to charge, and packed his laptop into his bag.  He turned on the shower, stripped away his clothes, and stepped beneath the warm spray to rinse the salt from his skin.

The rest had been done quickly and efficiently; in the shower, he lingered.

Prior to joining the humans, Adrien had never encountered fresh water.  He lived in the sea, and salt water was all he’d ever known.  Discovering the sweet purity of fresh water had been a welcome shock, and it was a luxury he now indulged in as often as he could.  He drank it, showered in it, bathed in it—hot, cold, it didn’t matter.  Even the power of fresh water felt different—it was softer, somehow, without losing any of its potency. 

Today, he let the inherent serenity of fresh water rush through him, clearing his mind, even as the warmth of the water soothed the tension from his muscles.  Now, finally, he could think, and he began going through the morning’s revelations one by one, and processing them individually as he slowly went through the motions of showering. 

So.  Marinette was an Air Mage, and she kept company with an elemental that rivalled Plagg for power.  That was…unexpected.  And intimidating.  But, did it really change anything?  His awareness of her power did nothing to change who she was; she was the same person today that she had been yesterday.  There was no reason for him to change his estimation of her character, unless he adjusted it upward several notches.  She wasn’t arrogant, as powerful people so often were.  She was kind and compassionate and down-to-earth.  She would never hurt him, he knew, and she was fiercely protective of her friends. 

Were they friends, though?  He wanted them to be friends. Like Nino, she was the kind of person he wanted to be friends with, and even better, Marinette was like him—not of the sea, perhaps, but she had magic, and already understood that world.  There was no need to hide huge portions of themselves from one another.  Even with as close as he was to Nino, he still hadn’t shared the truth about himself.  Maybe he would, one day, but for now…it was just too dangerous.  But Marinette knew, and understood.  And, oh gods, and she could breathe underwater.  Adrien actually laughed out loud at the thought—she could breathe underwater!  He could take her to explore below the sea—his home in Meriton, and Old Corinth and Aeolis and the Atlantean ruins.  There were so many incredible things to see!    

But—would she want to?  None of that mattered, if she wasn’t interested in spending time with him.  If anyone had asked him a week ago, he’d have said that Marinette just didn’t like him.  He’d more or less accepted that they would never be anything but acquaintances.  Now, though?  In reviewing all of their past interactions in light of the last two days, he realized with a groan that he’d misread her entirely.  She hadn’t disliked him at all, she’d been attracted to him, and he felt monumentally stupid for not recognizing it sooner.

In his defense, Merpeople were generally bold by nature. His own personality was unusual; his father’s was all but unheard of.  His only experience thus far had been with people who pursued him actively, stating their interest clearly from the beginning.  He’d been judging her behavior by Mer standards, but Marinette wasn’t Mer.  Desire, at least, seemed to be universal, and there’d been no mistaking the heat in her eyes that morning.  So, she desired him, even knowing that he wasn’t human.  Right?

He frowned, and his hands slowed in soaping his arms.  She still hadn’t seen him.  Not all of him, anyway.  She hadn’t seen his fin.  Human men had legs, not fish tails.  Would she be disgusted?   And even if she weren’t, even if she were still interested, did she want any sort of relationship?  Or was she only interested in a physical liaison?  

From what he’d learned of humans in general, and Marinette in particular, he rather thought it was the former, but he couldn’t be sure.

And that brought him to his last discovery.  He very, very definitely wanted **her** —for more than friendship.  He’d already known she was beautiful, and intelligent and kind.  He’d always found her attractive.  If he’d thought he had a chance, he’d have pursued her.  But if she didn’t want to be friends, she wouldn’t have wanted to be more than friends, and he’d left her alone.  Knowing that the attraction was mutual, that he did have a chance…it was like a dam had opened.  He was bowled over by his affection for her, and more, by his desire for her.  Perhaps it was just that he’d never been touched in quite that way, or perhaps it was the knowledge that she desired him, but…her touch had burned through him.  He was aroused, even then, just thinking about the slide of her fingers over his arm—his arm!—and the feel of her body along his.

It was ridiculous.  And, if he were being honest with himself, frightening. 

He sighed, and shut off the water, accepting that he’d dawdled long enough.  He had a class to get to, and his thoughts were as sorted as they were going to get for the time being.  The best thing to do, at this point, was to talk to her and find out where they stood with one another.   Unfortunately, he’d stayed in the shower for so long that he was very nearly running late and he had no time for contacting Marinette.

He dried and dressed quickly, grateful to his earlier self for having already packed his bag for class.  All he had to do now was pull his phone from the charger, grab his bag, and head out the door.

Adrien’s home in Marseille was not far from the school, and he enjoyed walking the handful of blocks to get there.  He checked his messages as he walked, replying to those that could be answered easily, and flagging the ones he’d need to come back to later.  He thought then of calling Marinette, but he didn’t know her schedule and he didn’t want to bother her during class.  So, a text message, then.  He thought for a moment, then brought up her contact information and typed out a short message.

 **Adrien:**   _Hey!  We didn’t really get to finish talking earlier.  Would you want to get coffee this afternoon_?

He hit send just as he reached the work room, and forced himself to slide his phone back into his pocket, rather than staring at it while waiting for a reply.  He knew she had class; she probably wouldn’t even see it until later. 

To his surprise, though, her reply came almost instantly:

 **Marinette:** _I was actually thinking the same thing.  Meet you at the shop on campus around 1430?_

He smiled, and immediately responded to confirm the plan. 

“Making plans for this weekend, M. Agreste?”

“Mme Piers!  _Bonjour_!”  He shoved his phone into his pocket, and pushed the door open for the Air Master to precede him into the room.  “I was making plans for this afternoon, actually.  Is Master Lamiere out today?”

“He is, actually.  Nasty cold.  Hopefully, he’ll be well before your next session.”  She set her things down on the sturdy oak desk that had been bolted to the floor, and moved to sit in the comfortable chair pulled up behind it.  “In the meantime, I’m afraid that you’re stuck with me.”

Adrien closed and bolted the door, engaging the pre-set wards, and then moved to sit in the simple, straight backed chair situated across from Mme Piers with a warm smile.  “I’m sure I’ll muddle through, somehow.”

“Cheeky boy,” she chuckled, shaking her head.  “Now, from his notes, I think you were working on drawing your element to you?”

“Yes, and struggling.  I can pull water from the air with no problem, but I can’t pull it up from the ground.” 

She frowned.  “Can you feel the water there?”

“Yes!  Absolutely.  I can feel it with no problem.”  He sat back, running his hands through his hair in frustration.  “I just can’t pull it to me, or even draw power from it.”

“Hmm.  I wonder…”  She sat back in her chair, and thoughtfully tapped her nails on the desk, clearly working through something in her mind.  Adrien, who had worked with her enough at this point to know that she would never be rushed, sat quietly and waited for her to complete her thought.  Sure enough, she seemed to come to a decision and sat forward in the chair once more, bracing her arms on the desk.

“You told me once about an elemental who has been your companion for many years.  Is he still with you?”

“Plagg?”  Adrien felt his brows rise.  “Yeah, he’s still around.  Why?”

“I have another student, an Air Master by power if not skill, who has a remarkable pair of earrings which allow her to fully bind with an elemental.  In this way, the elemental is able to not only lend her power, but also to guide her use of magic from within.”

Adrien sat forward eagerly.  “You mean Marinette?”

Mme Piers gave a startled laugh, and nodded.  “Yes!  I don’t know why I’m surprised that you know one another.  Anyway, I had never seen anything like it, just as I had never seen a mage-elemental relationship like theirs.  I can’t know for sure, without speaking to the mage who set the enchantment on her earrings, but I think that their relationship has as much to do with it as the spell.” 

Adrien nodded, seeing immediately where she was going with her line of thought.  “And you think that perhaps, Plagg could do the same for me?”

“Just so.”  She rapped on the desk with her knuckles and sat back against the squab with a smile, satisfied that he’d made the connection. “It’s worth a shot.  We will have to speak to M. Lamiere, of course, and I’ll have to see what I can learn from Mlle Dupain-Cheng, but we know if we don’t try.”   

“It’s an exciting possibility.  I can ask Marinette about it myself, this afternoon.”

“If you like.”  She folded her hands serenely, and propped her chin on her twined fingers.  “In the meantime, you have water to pull.”

Adrien groaned, but resigned himself to a grueling session and got to work.

 

* * *

 

Madame Justine Piers kept her composure when Adrien identified Marinette as the Air Mage with enchanted earrings, but it had been a near thing.  And then she was able to carry on the lesson as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, though it taxed her will to do so.  By the time the interminable session was over, her temper and her control had frayed to the point of snapping.

As soon as the door latched behind Adrien's retreating form, she re-engaged the wards on the room with a wave.  Then she opened a drawer in the stout desk, triggered the release catch on the false bottom, and lifted a small, nondescript box from its hiding place. 

In truth, the box was a well-warded velvet-lined case, but to anyone else, even to another mage, it would appear to be a pencil box, or a tin of mints, or something equally harmless.  In addition to the glamour hiding its true nature, there was another charm which encouraged the observer to carry on, to look away, to forget.  And even if someone were able to see through those wards to the jewelry box beneath, well.  Nothing good would come of trying to open it. 

Smiling to herself at the thought, Justine lifted the lid to reveal a deceptively simple brooch.  At first glance, it seemed an old piece of costume jewelry.  The setting was tarnished, and the stone merely a smooth cabochon of dark purple stone.  On closer inspection, there was a tiny lever which, when pressed, revealed the brooch to be a locket.  Mme. Piers did not press this lever, as she had no intention of releasing the creature that was imprisoned within.  Instead, she traced a finger gently over the smooth surface of the stone.  

She did this often, especially when she was frustrated or distressed.  This brooch was her most prized possession and it calmed her just to reassure herself that it was there.  This time, though, she needed more from the brooch than just its calming presence.  She set the case gently on the desk and sat back in her seat, adjusting herself until she was comfortable.  "Nooroo, attend me," she said, when she was satisfied with her position.

On the table, the brooch unfurled diaphanous wings of pure elemental energy, and rose up from its bed of velvet.  At its center the stone went black, then swirled to a pale lavender.  A tiny face peered out at her from the stone, his eyes both sad and wary.  "I attend you, Master," he answered her, as he was bound to do.

Justine smiled, once more feeling secure in anticipating her success, and the trapped air Elemental quailed. "Nooroo," she said silkily, "I am going to need you to do a bit of spying for me today."

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette arrived at the café before Adrien, and chose a seat near the door so that she could catch him on his way in.  Fortunately for her nerves, he wasn’t far behind her.  

“Hi,” she said shyly as he sank into the chair opposite her.  “How was class?”

“Exhausting, but that class always is.  What about you?”

“Good.  One was a lecture, but the other was a drawing class.  The second one makes the first one bearable.”

He smiled in response, but said nothing and the conversation stalled there.  After a moment of uncomfortable quiet, Adrien stood and gestured to the counter.  “Would you like something to drink?  An iced coffee maybe? My treat.”

Marinette stood too.  “Sure, an iced coffee sounds great, but you don’t have to do that.”

“I insist.”  He held his hand out with a smile, and Marinette swore that she felt her heart give an extra _thump_.  “Come on.  We can get our drinks and go for a walk.”

She took his hand and let him lead her to the counter, feeling almost dazed.  He ordered for both of them, prompting Marinette to chime in with the specifics of her drink, then paid for the order and led her to the side to wait for it.  She looked down at their clasped hands, and marveled a bit at how, well, **human** his looked.

Gone were the scales and the fins and the webbing, and there wasn’t a hint of that rich emerald green to be seen anywhere.  Her eyes tracked up his arm to his face, and she was surprised to see that he was looking down at her, studying her with a hint of a smirk.

She jerked her eyes away with a blush, and would have pulled her hand away too, except that he gave her fingers a gentle, comforting squeeze. 

“It’s alright, Marinette. I did the same thing, the first few times.”

She met his eyes with a shy smile.  “Really?”

“Oh, absolutely.  I’d lived my entire life—uh, that way.  You know?  And then, I was just—different.”  Their drink order came up then, and he released her hand to take both cups from the barista.  He thanked the woman with a polite smile, and then led the way outside into the warm afternoon sun.  “Do you want to walk down towards the water, maybe?  It’ll be less crowded.”

And they would be less likely to be overheard. “Sure.”

He led the way, and she followed his lead.  This time, the silence between them was companionable, rather than awkward, as they both sipped their coffees and moved steadily to a less-crowded area of the grounds.

“So,” she began, several minutes later.  “How does—I mean, how do you, you know—”

“Become human?”

“Yes,” she breathed, grateful that he’d saved her from her verbal floundering.  “I didn’t know that could happen outside of fairy tales.”

“It’s my ring.”  He held his hand up to show her, and she looked at it curiously.  “There’s an enchantment on it, keyed to me, that brings about the transformation.”

“Huh.  I wonder how they did that.”

Adrien shrugged, dropping his hand back to his side.  “I know that an Earth Master did it, but beyond that, I have no idea.”

“Does—does it hurt?”

“When I change?  No.  It feels tingly and warm, but it doesn’t hurt.”

“Oh.  Well, that’s good.”  She glanced at him as they walked, thinking of the original _Little Mermaid_ , and felt glad that his human existence was not one of mute misery.  She took a long pull of her drink.  “You know, when I was a little girl, I was obsessed with mermaids.”

His brows rose.  “Really?”

She nodded.  “I wanted to be one.  Desperately.  And after I found out that they actually existed?”  She chuckled, remembering, and shook her head.  “I thought for sure that one day, I’d be able to use my magic to make myself turn into a mermaid.”

He caught her eyes.  “You’d make a beautiful mermaid, Marinette.”

“Oh!”  She ducked her head, feeling her face heat.  “Um, thank you.  But, what I mean is, why did you give up being a mermai—er, merman?  Being human must be boring by comparison, right?”

He looked at her a bit strangely.  “I haven’t given it up; I’m still Mer, Marinette.  It’s in my blood, a part of who I am, and I could never leave the sea indefinitely. At some point, I will return home, and stay there.”

“Oh.”  She deflated, saddened by the knowledge that he planned to go back.  Really, she should have expected it.  “So you’re just…visiting?”

“I guess you could say that.  It’s, um…it’s more like a study abroad program.  My father has almost as many business interests here as he does back home, and since he wants me to take over at some point...”  He trailed off and shrugged.  “It makes sense for me to be a part of both worlds.”

“I see.”  She caught the end of her straw between her teeth, even though there was little more than ice left in her cup, and nibbled on it.  “Do you like it here, at least?”

He shot her another odd look.  “What makes you think I wouldn’t?”

“I don’t know.”  She frowned, replaying what he’d said.  “I guess because you said you were here because you had to be, and you intend to go back when you can.”

“Hang on,” he protested, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a stop so that they could face one another.  “I never said I was here because I had to be.  I’m here because I want to be, because I’ve always wanted to know what it is like here.  The fact that it makes good business sense is just the way I justified it to my father.”

“Oh.”  She studied him for a moment, and then smiled playfully.  “So I was here, dreaming of being there—”

He smiled, too.  “And I was there, dreaming of being here, yes.”  He resumed walking, and she fell into step beside him.  “You know,” he began, casting her a sidelong glance.  “I still can’t believe that you didn’t make any attempt to see my fin earlier.”

Marinette jerked her head to look at him, and promptly tripped over nothing.  She’d have fallen to her knees if he hadn’t caught her arm and steadied her. 

“You alright?”

“Ha haa, yeah.  Except for my pride, I’m fine.” Marinette tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat awkwardly as he bent to pick up her fallen cup, and walked to a nearby trashcan to dispose of their trash.  “Thanks, for getting that.”  She gestured to the trash bin, and he shrugged.  “Your, uh, question caught me a bit off guard, is all.”

“Ah,” he cringed.  “Sorry about that.  I seem to be doing that to you a lot, lately.”

“It’s alright,” she said, waving away his apology.  “I’m just clumsy.  It doesn’t take much to distract me, unfortunately.”

“I only asked because, well… You’re one of only a handful of people here who even knows what I am, and you’re the only person I’ve met here, who has seen me as myself, and, oh hell.”  He ran his free hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his head. 

Marinette stopped and stared at him, blushing.  “Are you—are you asking whether I find you attractive?” 

He stopped, too.  “Not—I mean, sort of, but—Ugh.”  He looked down, and kicked at pebbles in the path.  “I’m worried that you found the idea of a tail so repulsive that you didn’t even want to look.”

“No, of course not!”  She ducked down to catch his eyes, then pointed to herself with her brows raised.  “I’m the girl who wanted one for half of her life, remember?” He chuckled, as she’d intended, and she dropped her hand.  “No, I…I was definitely curious.  I **am** curious.  But, I think I was in shock, a little bit?   I think I needed time to process everything else, first.”

“I get that.” He scoffed, and flashed her a self-deprecating half-smile.  “I had to do some processing of my own, this morning.”

“Yeah?”

He raised his brows.  “Air Master?”

“Oh, yeah.  That.  I guess there were surprises for you, too?”  He widened his eyes and nodded adamantly, and she chuckled.  “I have the potential to be a Master, but I’m not there yet.”

“You’re studying with Mme Piers?”

“I am!”  She glanced at him in surprise.  “How did you know?”

“I’m working with M. Lamiere, the Water Master, and she sometimes sits in with us, and covers my workshops when he’s out.”

“Of course,” Marinette nodded.  “He does the same, for my classes.”

“Exactly.  Anyway, she was there for him today, and you came up in the course of our discussion.”

“Me?”

“Well, your earrings.  She was wondering if it would be possible to do for me and Plagg, what was done for you and Tikki.”

Marinette felt unease prickle over her skin at the mention of her earrings, and her hands went to cover them defensively. “I really don’t know how it was done.  I only know that is was an Earth Master who did it.”  She frowned, thinking back.  “I think that my parents called him the Guardian, but I’m not sure.”

Adrien stopped her again, but this time his eyes were lit with excitement.  “The Guardian?  Really?”

“I think so.  Why?”

He held up his hand and tapped his ring.  “The man who created this was called the Guardian.”

She took his hand and rubbed her thumb over the curiously blank face of the ring, her brows furrowed.  “You think it was the same man?”

“How many Earth Masters called the Guardian could there be?”

“I suppose.”  She released his hand and fingered one of her earrings.  “You said that Mme Piers told you about my earrings?”

“Yeah.”  He frowned.  “Should she not have?”

“No,” she said firmly, shaking her head.  “I understand that she was trying to help you, but the University faculty and staff are expected to maintain student privacy.  Especially those in the Arcane wing.”

“Oh.  I didn’t realize…but that makes sense.”

“Hmm.  I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.  It just makes me uncomfortable, you know?”  He nodded, and she resumed walking with a smile.  “So, um, speaking of secrets, can I ask you something?”

His brows rose curiously.  “Yeah, sure.” 

“Um, okay.”  Now that she’d begun, Marinette felt all of the impertinence of her request weigh heavily on her, and she blushed.  “You know Alya, right?”

“Of course.”

“I wanted to ask—may I tell her about you?”  His eyes hardened, and she rushed to continue.  “She already knows about me.  We’ve been friends for years, and I trust her.  Completely.  She would no more expose you, than she would expose me.”

Adrien sighed, looking distinctly uncomfortable.  “Marinette, I—please don’t.  I haven’t even told Nino what I am.”

Marinette blinked.  “Oh.  Wow.  I guess, I just thought…how can you stand it?”

He looked at her sharply.  “What?”

She bit her lip, worrying that she’d said something wrong, but it was too late now.  “Being so…isolated.”

His expression shuttered, and he looked ahead. “Oh.  Ha.  I uh, guess I’m used to it.”

“Adrien, that’s—“

“It’s fine.”

Marinette recognized a closed door when she saw one.  She sighed, and returned to her original question.  “The only reason I ask, is that she knows me well enough that she is going to know that something happened this morning.  I could…I could just tell her that there are things that I can’t tell her, but she isn’t dumb.  She’s going to immediately translate that to ‘it’s magic related’, and from there realize that it has to do with you because if it was about me, I’d have no problem telling her about it.”

“I…see.”

Marinette groaned miserably.  “I’m so sorry, Adrien.  I just, want to know how you want me to handle it.”

“It isn’t your fault.”  He ran his hands through his hair and clasped them behind his neck, sighing in resignation.  “What if…what if you tell her only that I’m a Water Mage?  It isn’t a lie, and it’s within the realm of things she’s already familiar with.”

“That—Adrien, that’s perfect!  Are you sure you’re alright with me telling her that much?”

He shrugged, his features tight.  “I’m not entirely comfortable with it, but I think it’s the best solution.”

“Damnit.  I shouldn’t have mentioned seeing you again this morning.  If I hadn’t…but, I wasn’t thinking.  I’m messing this up already, aren’t I?”

His expression eased, and he stepped in front of her, capturing her full attention.  “This?”

Marinette looked up at him with wide eyes, recognizing that the atmosphere between them had shifted yet again.  She nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact.

“What is it you think you’re messing up?”

She licked her lips, scrambling mentally for a response, and she saw his eyes flick down to track the movement of her tongue. She gulped.   “B-being friends?  With you?”

He didn’t respond immediately.  His green eyes held hers, and she held her breath, wondering what he would say.

“Marinette, I—I’m not sure how this is usually done here, but among my people, when someone is interested in someone else, they say so.  Bluntly, and sometimes, graphically.” He laughed, shaking his head, and Marinette realized that he was actually as nervous as she.   “I’m pretty sure that part of it, at least, isn’t acceptable here, but… I like you, Marinette.  I’m interested in you.  I didn’t say anything before, because I thought my interest was not returned, but now _mpf_ —!”

Marinette’s brain had stalled out somewhere around ‘ _I like you_ ,’ and by the time she’d restarted it, he’d gotten to ‘ _I thought my interest was not returned_ ’, and all she’d been able to think was, _well that isn’t true_.  But, since her speech function had not yet been restored, she did the next best thing—she grabbed him by his collar, yanked him down, and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: I'm using 24 hour/military time here, so for those who are unfamiliar, 1430=2:30 in the afternoon.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and for your overwhelmingly positive support! ♡


	5. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette over-thinks things, Alya is Alya, and a sleepover plan is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update! This one is a tad bit shorter, but I was excited to post. Enjoy! ♡

Adrien registered the feel of her lips on his with shock. 

Of all the things he’d expected from his declaration, **this** had hardly even made the list.  However unexpected, though, her reaction was certainly not unwelcome. 

His shock was rapidly replaced with desire.  He hummed low in his throat and angled his head, deepening the kiss, and slid his arms around her to tug her flush against his body.  She pressed up on her toes, sliding one hand up to his neck, and he nipped playfully at her lip in the hopes that she would open her mouth and allow him to press further.

Instead, she stiffened in his arms and broke the kiss.

“Marinette?”  He pulled back until his hands rested on her hips, taking in her flushed cheeks and over-bright eyes, and rubbed his thumbs over the delicate dip at her waist.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No!  Not at all.  It’s just, I—I’m sorry.  I didn’t even think.  I just jumped on you.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, smiling in spite of her withdrawal.  “I’m…delighted that **that** was your response.”

She smiled tentatively in response, and he felt his own smile widen.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  He brought a hand to her jaw, and stroked her cheek.  “I **really** like you, Marinette.  There’s quite a lot I’d like to share with you.”

“Oh!”  She pinkened again, and looked up at him shyly, through her lashes.  “I, um.  I really like you, too.”

His smile widened to a full-blown grin, and he dipped his head to press another kiss to her lips, forcing himself to keep it brief, and then let his hand slide down her arm.  “So, what happens now?”

She laughed.  “Well, **now** , I think I need to get home and do the homework I’ve been neglecting all afternoon.  But, after that…I don’t know.  Would you want to come over this weekend?  Alya and I were talking about having a sleepover, and she mentioned inviting you and Nino…”

“A…sleep over?”  She wanted him to come over and sleep?

“Yeah.  Um, you know, hang out, watch movies, play video games, stay up too late…a sleepover.”

“Oh.  Yeah, I’d like that.  But, why is it called a sleep over if you don’t actually sleep?”

“I have no idea,” she shrugged, giggling. “It just is.”

“If you say so.”  He dipped his chin, indicating the path behind her with a raised brow.  “Shall we head back, then?”

She half turned, looking back the way they’d come.  “Yeah.  I guess we’d better.” 

He held his hand out with a half bow and a grin.  “After you, my lady.”

 

* * *

 

Marinette walked into her apartment in a dreamy daze, closed the door behind herself, and then leaned against it, clutching her bag to her chest.

“Marinette!  Is that you, babe?”

“Ye-yeah, it’s me.”

Alya stuck her head out of her room, took in Marinette’s faraway look, and came fully out into the hall.  “Hey girl, are you alright?”

“Alya, I am **fantastic**.”  She pushed away from the door and met Alya in the middle of their living room, dropping her bag on the couch as she walked by.  “Guess who’s coming to our sleepover this weekend?”

“What—wait, are you serious?”  Marinette only nodded smugly, and Alya squealed, wrapping her in an enthusiastic hug.  “Ohmygodgirl, what the heck happened?  What changed between this morning and now?  Shit, this calls for food.  Come with me into the kitchen and **start talking**.”

Marinette followed Alya into the kitchen with a laugh, more than ready to share and more than willing to let Alya cook for her.

A few hours later saw them both sprawling on the couch, comfortably stuffed with Alya’s homemade curry, and stuffing themselves further with Marinette’s homemade macarons.  They’d covered the events of both the morning and the afternoon as they’d cooked, ate, and cleaned the kitchen. 

It had been a bit dicey when it came to the part about Adrien being a Water Mage, because even though Marinette was telling the truth, she wasn’t telling the whole truth and Alya was practically a human lie detector.  She seemed to realize that something was missing there.  It had been a tense moment for Marinette, but Alya must have accepted it at face value and moved on.  Well, either that or she’d decided to come back to it later. 

For the sake of her sanity, Marinette was assuming it was the former.

Now, they were nibbling on macarons and trying to nail down plans for their weekend sleepover, but couldn’t decide on a day.  Marinette wanted to see Adrien again as soon as possible, and voted for Friday.  But Alya had an internship with a local paper and had to put in a few hours at the office on Saturday morning.  Her vote, naturally, was for Saturday night.

“You know, M, you don’t have to wait for The Sleepover to see him again.”  Alya quirked a brow and gestured towards Marinette’s phone with the half-eaten cookie in her hand.  “You guys could always hang out tomorrow and do your own thing.”

She groaned and turned on the couch to put her feet on Alya’s lap and flop backwards dramatically.  “I do know.  But, I’ve already invited him over for this.  I don’t want to—to be too much too fast and make it weird.”

“You agonizing over this is weird.”  She rolled her eyes and shoved the rest of the cookie into her mouth, and didn’t continue until she’d swallowed it.  “Just call him and tell him that we’re getting together Saturday night, and casually mention that you’ll be at the beach again tomorrow morning.  I guarantee that your Water boy will show up again.”

“You say that like it’s so easy.”

“It is easy.  Here, I’ll even do it for you.”  She leaned forward and scooped Marinette’s phone off of the low coffee table, holding it out of Marinette’s reach when she screeched and lunged for it.  Marinette over balanced and fell off of the couch entirely, giving Alya all the time she needed to bring up Adrien’s contact info and hit _call_.  She then handed it back to a disheveled Marinette with a wink. “It’s ringing.  You’ll thank me later!”

“Damnit, Alya.”  She raised the phone to her ear, clambering back up to the couch, and sure enough, it was ringing.  “I am going to kill you,” she hissed.

“ _You know, that’s not exactly what I expected to hear when I answered the phone._ ”

Marinette felt her stomach drop, and glared accusingly at her friend.  “Oh god, Adrien, not you!  I was talking to Alya.”

The girl in question snickered, and waggled her fingers innocently.  “Sleepover.  Saturday.  Tell him to bring booze.”

“ _I hope you’re not calling for help disposing of the body.  I think it’s a little early in our relationship for that_.”

Marinette spluttered a laugh, and waved away Alya’s questioning look. “Ugh, I’m sorry, Adrien.  Alya is being ridiculous.  I was actually calling to see if, um, if you still wanted to come over this weekend?”

“ _Yeah, absolutely!  When were you thinking_?”

“Um, sometime Saturday.  I have nothing scheduled this weekend, so you can stop by whenever.”

“ _Oh.  What time will Nino be there_?”

“I’m not sure, Alya hasn’t spoken with him yet.  But, she has to be in the office until noon, so he won’t be over until sometime after that.”

“ _Why don’t I come by around 1600, then?_ ”

1600?  Marinette felt a wave of disappointment, and stifled it.  “Okay, yeah.  1600.  That sounds great.”

Alya poked her in the side. “Booooooooze.”

Marinette batted her hand away with a scowl, and Alya snatched the phone from her hand.

“Hey, Adrien!  It’s Alya.”

“ _Oh!  Hey, Alya_ —”

“Take a nap before you come over and bring your favorite booze with you on Saturday, okay?  But don’t worry about condoms, I’ll slip a few into Marinette’s nightstand.  You can have her back now.  Bye!”

She passed the phone back to a red-faced Marinette, who was staring at her with something between fury and mortification, but Alya only laughed.  “You know I love you, right?”

“I’m not speaking to you.”  She put the phone back to her ear and stalked towards her room, cringing at the sound of Adrien’s choked laughter on the other end.

“I really am going to kill her.”

“ _No you won’t_ ,” he snickered.  “ _If it makes you feel any better, I don’t mind.  She’d actually fit in well among the Mer.  Besides, it was funny_.”

“Ugggh, says you.  I still don’t know how I’ve survived this long with her as my best friend without dying of mortification.”

He laughed again.  “ _Seriously, don’t worry about it_.  _Sex isn’t the—the thing for our people that it is for yours.  That’s well within the realm of ‘socially acceptable for me_.”

“If you say so.”  Marinette smiled, appreciating his attempt to mitigate her discomfort even if it did little to actually do so.  “Anyway, I guess I’ll see you Saturday afternoon, then?”

“ _Oh.  Are you not planning to go to the beach in the morning?  I had hoped to see you again._ ”

Marinette’s eyes widened, and she felt her cheeks heat with pleasure.  He wanted to see her again!  “Oh!  Yeah, I’ll be out there again.  I just…didn’t want to assume.  I don’t want to push you, or—or be clingy.”

He chuckled, low and throaty, and the sound did **things** to her insides.  “ _Marinette, you could cling to me like a limpet and I wouldn’t mind_.”

“I—um—yes?”  She squeaked, going absolutely scarlet.

He chuckled again.  “ _I’ll see you in the morning_.”

“Yeah.  Morning.  See you.”

“ _’Night_ ,” he said, and hung up.

Marinette tapped the red end call icon, and flopped backwards on her bed to stare dreamily at the ceiling. 

“So, are you ready to thank me yet?”

Marinette knew without looking that Alya stood in the doorway with her shoulder braced against the frame.  “He wanted to see me tomorrow.  He said I could cling to him like a limpet, and he wouldn’t mind.”

“Hmmm.  Maybe I need to slip you more than just a few condoms.”

Marinette threw her pillow at her with a sound that was half laugh and half groan.

Alya dodged it with a grin.  “You’re welcome!”

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien actually woke up before his alarm went off the next morning and rolled out of bed, tapping on Plagg’s aquarium on his way to the bathroom.

He was excited to get out to the beach for another swim, in spite of the fact that he’d just stretched his fin the day before.  Normally, he would wait a few more days before removing his ring again, to minimize the possibility of being seen, but now he actually had someone to go swimming with.  He’d have company out there, and if necessary, he was sure that she would help him protect his secret. 

Mostly, though, he really just wanted to see her.  He felt almost giddy in his excitement.  Is this what love feels like?  Probably not.  But infatuation?  Most definitely.  Regardless, it was a new and exciting experience, and he was enjoying it thoroughly.

He left the bathroom a few minutes later to get dressed, and tapped on the glass again.  “I’m going back to the beach this morning.  You want to come?”

“ _Why, so I can watch you flirt with your girlfriend?  No thanks_.”

Adrien paused in pulling on his shorts and shot a glance at the shadowed recesses of the over-turned trash can, and the slitted green eyes hovering there.  “She’s not my girlfriend.  We’re just—actually, I don’t know what we are.”

“ _Whatever.  Just, stop smiling like that.  It’s weird._ ”

“Can’t help it.”  He tugged the drawstring of his swim trunks taut and tied them.  “Tikki will be there.  You sure you don’t want to come?”

“ _Eh, she’ll be stuck in the earrings.  No fun that way.  Besides, you did not bring me enough Camembert for yesterday’s excursion._ ”

Adrien rolled his eyes.  “I brought you three wheels of the stuff, you glutton.”  He tugged on a t-shirt, slid his feet into his sandals, and pocketed his keys and his phone.  It’s not my fault that you inhaled all three right away.  And, today, I’m only inviting you along, not requesting your presence.  It makes no difference to me if you want to just stay in there all day.”

“ _Fine.  I’ll come with you.  There’s no need to beg_.”

Adrien scoffed, and crossed to the tank to allow Plagg to ooze into the ring.  “You’re ridiculous.”

“ _You’re ridiculous.  I’ve never seen you all gross and moony like this before_.”

“I’m not gross or moony.”  He dried his hand on his towel and left through the back door, locking it behind himself. “I like her, and I’m happy that she likes me.”

“ _You’re mooning like a love-sick whale calf_.”

Adrien shrugged, unperturbed by the accusation.  He knew Plagg was just trying to rile him.  “You’re awfully chatty this morning,” he observed, redirecting the conversation.

“ _I have to do something to distract myself from your nausea-inducing good mood_.”

“If I’m so nauseating, why did you come along?”

“ _To see the next round of awkwardness between you and your Air Mage girlfriend_.”

“Uh-huh,” Adrien snickered.  “And it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re just as excited to see Tikki as I am to see Marinette?”

“ _I’m an ancient being of immeasurable power.  I don’t get excited_.”

“Right.  We’ll go with that.”

His ring was suspiciously quiet after that, and he let it go with only a smirk.  He was getting close to where he’d seen Marinette the day before, but there was no sign of her.  Had she decided not to come after all?  Or had he just beaten her there? 

He checked up the path she’d taken when she left the day before, but he didn’t see her there either.  With a mental shrug, he left his things in a neat pile near the end of the fence, and crossed quickly to the water.  He slowed down a bit once his lower half was submerged, but he didn’t stop moving until he’d gotten far enough out that the water was well over his head. 

“All right, Plagg.  Out.”

The deep black of the ring drained out to undulate just under the surface of the water, leaving it the muted silver it usually was, and Adrien pulled the ring from his finger.  As soon as it cleared the second knuckle, the magic that made him human lifted, fusing his legs together into the long green tail that he missed more than he’d expected to over the last few years.

“ _You could say please, you know_ ,” came the reproachful comment from Plagg, as soon as the green light of his transformation faded.

Adrien scoffed playfully.  “Oh, I’m sorry, did my lack of manners offend you?”  He pulled the leather thong from his neck, looped it through the ring, and dropped it back over his head.  “Given that you never bother to use any yourself, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

_“Ancient being of immeasurable power, remember?  I don’t have to use manners unless I want to.”_

“Adrien!”

Adrien turned in the water to see Marinette waving from the shore, and he waved back with a smile.  He watched as she deposited her bag next to his things and pulled her dress off over her head, revealing the red and black bikini that he’d been admiring for two days now.  Then she turned and jogged into the surf.

“Hey!  I’m sorry I’m late,“ she huffed when she got close enough to speak.  She was obviously out of breath.  "My mom called just as I was leaving.  She spoke with the Guardian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1600=4pm.
> 
> As always, your questions and comments are appreciated!! ♡


	6. Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette get to chat with the Guardian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you I was going to lose steam. But hey, 19k words in 7 days is still pretty good, right?

 Adrien gaped.  “She…the Guardian‽”

She nodded, treading water.  Tikki materialized over her shoulder and floated down to rest there.  “I called her last night, to tell her about Mme Piers’ idea—both because it’s intriguing, and because I was uncomfortable with her sharing information about me.  She and Papa felt the same about it as I do, so Maman called Master Fu right away—”

“Master Fu?”

“The Guardian,” Tikki explained.

“Mm-hmm.  He’s actually an old friend of the family, and I’ve known him since I was tiny, but I had no idea who he really was until last night.  Anyway, he’s going to be at my parents’ house tonight, and they want to Skype with you.”

“With me?” 

Plagg, who’d solidified himself into a big-headed kitten as soon as Tikki had appeared, floated up to lounge negligently on Adrien’s shoulder.  “Can’t you say anything other than to repeat what she says back at her?” 

Marinette glanced at Plagg with a frown, but otherwise ignored him.  “With both of us, actually, but since you’re the one with the ring to be enchanted, he wants to talk to you.”

Adrien felt excitement begin to bubble in his chest.  “So he thinks it might be possible?”

She shrugged apologetically.  “Maman didn’t say.”

“Fair enough,” he nodded.

“I find it amusing that you’re going to the trouble of finding out whether it can be done without finding out whether I’ll even cooperate.”

Tikki put her paws on her hips and leveled a look at Plagg.  “Don’t be ridiculous, Plagg.  Of course you will.” 

“You’re not the boss of me, Bug.”

Tikki ignored him, and turned to nuzzle Marinette’s cheek. “Did you still want to practice today?” 

“I don’t know.”  She looked at Adrien with raised brows.  “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.  Air Mages are rare among the Mer, I’ve been looking forward to seeing you work.”

Marinette blushed at the idea of being observed, but turned her eyes to Tikki with a smile nonetheless.  “Spots on please.”  Adrien saw the same whirlwind surround her that he’d seen before, and when it faded, Marinette regarded him awkwardly.  “So, um, I guess I’ll go down now.”

“Go…down?”  Adrien snickered at the unintentional entendre, and her eyes blew wide.

“No!  I mean, I’ll dive down, under the water!  Not…um…you know…”  She trailed off with a groan, and covered her face with her hands.  “Excuse me, I have to go die of embarrassment now.”

She dove below immediately after that, giving Adrien a fantastic view of her **assets** before she disappeared beneath the water (Adrien snickered again at his mental pun), and he followed her beneath the surface. 

 

* * *

 

“ _So, what does an Air Mage do under wa_ —”

She’d turned back towards him at his words, only freeze at the sight of him in all his Mer glory.  “ _Oh holy crumb he has a tail!_ ”

 He looked pointedly down at his fin, and then met her round-eyed stare with a blush.  “ _Did you forget_?”

She clapped her hands over her mouth, though the gesture was worthless; the words had not been spoken aloud and it was too late to recall them anyway.  “ _You heard me! How did you hear me?_ ”

He frowned.  “ _You intended me to, didn’t you?_ ”

“ _No, I_ —”

“ _I think you did it automatically, Marinette,”_ interjected Tikki. _“You heard him speaking to you this way, and you’re so used to doing it with me when we’re like this that you responded in kind without conscious thought._ ”

“ _Oh.  That makes sense_.”   She swam closer to Adrien, who eyed her apprehensively.

“ _So, um.  What—what do you think?_ ”

“ _I think—I think—_ ”  She broke off, shaking her head wordlessly as she raked her eyes down over his body.  His broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, where the skin of his upper body slowly gave way to the jade green scales of his tail, like the fin on his arm.  At his hips, he had long pale fins that probably helped him maneuver in the water, but for now, they floated passively alongside his tail.   She felt them brush against her legs when he’d carried her the day before, and had wondered if he’d been wearing something over his tail; now she knew.   Another fin, this one similar to the ones on his arms, ran down the front of his tail from where his knees would be to the long, wide fin at the end.   “ _Adrien, you’re—”_

“ _It’s weird, isn’t it?_ ”

“ _What_?”  She jerked her eyes up to his face, and realized from his stiff, crestfallen expression that he’d completely misconstrued her silence.  “ _No!_   _Adrien, no, your tail is incredible.  It’s different, in an exotic sort of way but not weird.”_   She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. _“You’re—you’re **beautiful**_.”

His face lit.  “ _Truly?  I know that I’m considered attractive among my own people, but—gods, that sounds so conceited, but I didn’t mean—_ ”

“ _Do you think that my legs are weird?_ ” she asked suddenly, interrupting him.

He smiled wryly, seeing immediately where she was going.  “ _No, your legs are gorgeous_.”

She blushed hotly, but didn’t break eye contact.  “ _They why is it so hard to believe that I would feel the same way about your tail?_ ”

His smile broadened, and he flicked his tail lazily, bringing them closer together.  Marinette’s eyes widened a bit, dipping down to his mouth with the realization that he was going to kiss her.  She let them slide closed and lifted her face towards his.

“ _Eh, the kid’s got a praise kink.  He just wanted to hear you say it again_.”

Her eyes flew open and whipped to the side, where Plagg-the-eel was floating close by.

“ _Impeccable timing_ , _Plagg,”_ Adrien deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose. _“Can you not?  Please?_ ”

Marinette giggled.  “ _He’s kind of an ass, isn’t he?_ ”

“ _You have no idea._ ”

“ _I am an **ancient being of immeasurable power**!  Why does no one seem to care that I could kill them with little more than a thought?_ ” 

“ _Because they know you won’t_ ,” Tikki pointed out, sounding smug.  “ _Besides, you could try but you wouldn’t get too far with me here.  I’ve always been the stronger of the two of us_.”

“ _Says you_ ,” he grumbled. 

Adrien grinned, delighted to see Plagg getting some of his own medicine.  “ _Tikki, I think I love you._ ”

“ _Two words for you, kid.  Fan.  Club_.  _A few words whispered in the right ear, and you can kiss your peaceful morning swims goodbye._ ”

“ _Yeah, yeah_ ,” he said, grimacing _.  “So you keep threatening_.”

Marinette’s brows rose.  “ _Fan club?_ ”

 “ _Uh, nothing_?”  He pasted on a bright expression and held his hands expectantly out to the sides, palms up.   “ _So, how about practicing some Air magic?_ ”  

* * *

 

That evening, Adrien roamed through his already immaculate house, looking for things to tidy.  Normally, he was grateful for the cleaning service his father had engaged for the house, but…  He sighed.  Marinette would be there any minute, and for the life of him, he could not sit still.

They agreed that morning that it would be better to meet at his house for their Skype call with her parents and Master Fu.  He had no roommates, so there would be no need to watch what they said.  They’d be able to speak freely, for as long as they needed to, which was a very good thing.

Mostly, though, Adrien just wanted an excuse to have her at his house.  He wasn’t sure why it felt so important to him.  Maybe because he’d never been able to have anyone visit him at home when he was growing up?  Or perhaps because he really just wanted to see her here, in his space?  Either way, he was entirely pleased with the arrangement.

He just needed her to get there so he could stop being anxious about it.

He looked at his watch, saw that he still had five minutes before the appointed time, and threw himself onto his couch with another sigh.

“I still don’t get why you’re so worked up.  So she’s coming over here, big deal.”

Adrien glared at the elemental as he floated down to lounge on the over-sized ottoman.  “What are you doing out of your trash can?”

“Do you know what is a big deal?  Camembert.  If I were you, I’d be freaking out less over her being here, and more worked up over the fact that you don’t have any gourmet cheese to impress her with.”

“Oh fuck, I didn’t even think about having food!”

Plagg looked smug.  “Welp, too late now!”

“What do you mean—“

The doorbell rang, both interrupting him and answering his question.  “Merde.”  He crossed to the door, yanked it open, and blurted “I’m so sorry I didn’t get food!”

Marinette blinked.  “What?”

“It’s dinner time, but I didn’t think to have something prepared.  Not even snacks!”

“Oh.  No worries.  You didn’t say anything about dinner, so I ate at home.”

“Oh.  Okay,” said slowly, allowing himself to relax.  “That’s—that’s good.”

She smiled expectantly and rocked back on her heels, blushing faintly.  “May I come in?”

“OH,” he yelped, jumping back to make room for her to get by.  “Yes!  Yes, please.  Come on in.”

Plagg cackled.  “Real smooth, kid.”

Adrien groaned, and Marinette tapped Plagg’s head with her finger.  “Hush, you.”

“Thanks,” Adrien said, smiling gratefully as he led the way to the couch.  “He has to hide when Nino is here, and I think he’s happy not to be banished.”

“That’s no reason to be a snot.  Even if he is kind of adorable like this.”  She sat on the couch and placed her bag on the floor near her feet.

“Ha!  She thinks I’m adorable.”

“That would be the element you focused on,” Tikki giggled, materializing near Marinette.

“Oh gods, don’t encourage him.”  Adrien sat next to her and pulled his laptop from the ottoman to rest on his lap so that he could unlock it and sign out of Skype.  “So, is there anything I need to know before they call, so I don’t accidentally screw something up?”

“No, not really.”  He passed the laptop to her so that she could sign in to Skype on her account.  “Are you worried they won’t like you?”

He winced.  “Maybe a little?”

“Maybe a lot.”

Adrien scowled.  “Shut, up Plagg.”

“You notice he didn’t deny it,” Plagg smirked.

Marinette captured Plagg in her palm and scratched his head gently, then laughed when he all but melted beneath her fingers.  “Tikki suggested that a bit of affection might mellow him out,” she explained when Adrien gaped openly at her manhandling of the elemental. “I think she was right.”

In her hand, Plagg tilted his head back to allow her to scratch beneath his chin, and slitted one eye open.  “If you ever do this to me, fish boy, I will maim you.”

Adrien looked appalled.  “I don’t think either of us will ever have to worry about it.”

Satisfied, Plagg closed his eye and nuzzled into Marinette’s hand and she giggled in spite of herself.  “You are _such_ a cat.”  Then she nudged Adrien, who was still staring at Plagg in disgust.  “You don’t need to worry about my parents not liking you.  Master Fu either.  Just be yourself, and they will adore you.”  _Like I do_ , she added silently.  She must have “pushed” it at him, though, because his eyes widened and his cheeks pinkened in a way that indicated that he’d heard. 

“I have got to stop doing that,” she groaned.

“It’s alright,” he said, grinning.  “It’s working out rather well for me.”

She was saved from answering by the tone of an incoming Skype call, and Adrien felt another wave of anxiety.

“Hi Maman!  Hi Papa!” she greeted her parents with a grin, and Adrien took the opportunity to study them.

They were a surprising study in contrasts.  Her mother was a petite Asian woman with lustrous black hair and intelligent grey eyes, while her father was a green-eyed behemoth of a man with western European roots.   He gulped, feeling very glad that they were having this meeting over Skype rather than in person.  Her father’s bicep was likely as big around as Adrien’s waist.

“Is Master Fu there yet?” Marinette asked, drawing Adrien’s attention.

“ _He’s here_.”  Tom reached toward the camera, covering it for a moment, and when they could see again it was clear that he’d pushed the camera back, widening the angle.  An older man of obvious Asian origin was scooting closer to Marinette’s mother, and Adrien realized with surprise that he recognized him. 

He leaned over to Marinette, to murmur in her ear.  “That’s him!  He’s the one who enchanted my ring.”

“ _Marinette, dear, why don’t you introduce us to your friends?_ ” her mother prodded gently, and he and Marinette both flushed.

“Oh!”  Marinette scooted closer to him and shifted the laptop to rest half on his lap, so that they could see him, and he felt himself flush at the feel of her thigh pressed along his.  “Um, this is Adrien Agreste, and this is Plagg.  Guys, these are my parents, Tom and Sabine, and our friend, Master Fu.”

“Hello,” Adrien waved awkwardly.

Plagg yawned.

“ _It is so nice to finally meet you!_ ”  Sabine said, smiling.  “ _We’ve heard a lot about you, over the last few years._ ”

He glanced at Marinette, who had gone scarlet.  “Oh, really?”

“ **Maman** ,” she grated out, flaring her eyes for emphasis. 

Sabine shrugged innocently, while Tom hid a smile behind his hand.  “ _What?  It’s true._ ”

“ _Marinette, why don’t you tell us about your instructor_ ,” Tom interjected, obviously seeking to head off trouble.  “ _I know you’ve already told your mother, but Fu and I would like to hear it firsthand_.”

“Mme. Piers,” Marinette began, “is an Air Master, and my mentor.  You remember her from orientation a few years ago, right Papa?”  He nodded and she continued.  “She’s a great teacher, and we get along well.  Between her and Tikki, I’ve made a lot of progress.  I’ve never had any problems with her.”

“ _But?_ ” 

Marinette nodded.  “She told Adrien about my earrings, and my bond with Tikki.”

Tom’s expression had darkened, and Fu hissed in displeasure.  “ _You are certain_?”

Marinette looked at Adrien, who nodded.   “She brought it up.  I’d mentioned struggling with calling water up through the ground, and she offered it as a possible solution, to help me learn.”

Tom looked at Marinette.  “ _She didn’t ask your permission first?_ ”

“No.  She didn’t say anything to me after the fact, either.”

Sabine scowled.  “ _I told her that she needs to report Mme Piers to the Dean of Arcane Studies, but she says it isn’t necessary_.”

“I don’t like it, but there’s no harm done!  I don’t want her to get in trouble.”

“ _It doesn’t matter, Marinette_.”  Tom glanced at his wife, who nodded her agreement. “ _She violated University policy, and she violated your trust.  You need to report the incident_.”  He shifted his gaze to Adrien, who squirmed under its weight.  “ _Would you be willing to file a report as well?_ ”

“I can, yes.”

“ _You seem reluctant_ ,” Master Fu observed.

“I think I must be missing something. It was unprofessional, sure, but it seems like you’re all disproportionally upset.”

“ _Beyond the fact that she violated a clear policy on student privacy?  We are particularly careful when it comes to Marinette and her power_.”  Tom gestured to Master Fu, who nodded.  “ _Fu warned us a long time ago that we would need to be, because she’s got the kind of power that is coveted by unscrupulous mages.  It’s why he and Tikki wanted to help us, and it’s why we’ve always downplayed her potential with everyone outside our immediate circle_.”

“I had no idea.”  He frowned.  “And Mme Piers knows all this?”

Sabine pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded.  “ _She does_.”

Adrien frowned.  “That was…that was not well done of her.”

“ _No, it was not_.”  Sabine looked imploringly at her daughter.  “ _Promise us that you will report her?_ ”

“Fine,” Marinette gave in with a scowl.  “But I still think that it’s unnecessary.”

“ _So, Adrien_ ,” Master Fu began, forestalling a rebuttal from Sabine, who snapped her mouth closed with a wry smile. “ _Sabine tells me that you wish a further enchantment for your ring_?”

“Ah!  Erm, yes.”  He held his hand up to the camera, displaying his ring.  “It already allows me to transform from Mer to human and back again, and Plagg is able to hide in it, but I was hoping that it could be enchanted to allow us to bond, the way that Tikki bonds with Marinette through her earrings.”

Master Fu shook his head, frowning.  “ _Your ring already has that ability.  Did your father not explain it to you?_ ”

Adrien looked at his ring, and then back at Master Fu, poleaxed.  “It already—what?  No, it doesn’t.  It can’t.”

His brow smoothed out, and he folded his hands serenely on the head of his cane.  “ _Young man, I enchanted that ring myself.  It most assuredly does_.”

“But…Plagg has gone into the ring, but he’s never, well, bonded with me.”

Fu shot an annoyed look at Plagg, who made it a point not to meet his gaze.  “ _Plagg, I’m sure, kept the information to himself for the sake of mischief, but I can’t imagine why your father would have withheld it from you.  In order to bind Plagg to the ring and allow you to bond, you must use the words that trigger the spe_ ll.”

“Oh,” Adrien breathed, staring at his ring as if he’d never seen it before.  “What are the words?”

“ _Have patience.  You first need to understand that if you activate the spell when Plagg is unwilling, then he will possess you, and you will become a spectator in your own mind until he chooses to release himself from the ring.  It is a safety precaution, to protect the elementals from abuse._ ”

“Great,” Adrien scoffed.  “I mean, I get why it’s necessary, but Plagg loves nothing more than to be difficult.  It might as well not have the ability, for all the good it will do me.”

Fu looked pointedly at Plagg.  “ _I think that you will be surprised by what Plagg will be willing to do_.”  Plagg continued to ignore him, and Fu shook his head.  “ _The cat form suits him_ ,” he muttered.  “ _Now, tell me young man, why would your father have hidden that aspect of the ring’s power from you?_ ”

“I have no idea,” he replied, bewildered.  “He’s always bemoaned my weak magic, but—”

“ _Excuse me?_ ” Fu asked sharply, leaning forward and looking thunderous. “ _He **what**?_ ”

“He’s always complained that I’m not a stronger Mage,” he said, dropping his eyes in shame.  He hated making that admission at all, and he hated even more that he had to do it in front of Marinette and her parents.  “I’ve done my best, but…there’s only so much I can do with weak magic.”

“ _Adrien, look at me_.”  The words were said gently, but with an edge of steel that had Adrien looking up in surprise.  “ _You have the potential to be an unparalleled Water **Master**.  Your father lied._ ”

“No.”  Adrien felt the blood drain from his face, and he sagged against the couch.  The bit about the ring was unexpected, and discomfiting. But this?  It was utterly staggering.  “I’m weak.  A disappointment.”

“Adrien.”  Marinette’s voice.  Gentle, and earnest.

Numbly, he turned to look at her, barely registering her expression of mingled anger and concern. 

“Magic attracts magic, remember?”  She clasped his hand, and stroked her thumb over the back.  “How could a low-level Mage have attracted an elemental of Plagg’s caliber?”

Adrien dropped his head back to stare bleakly at the ceiling, accepting the truth of her statement as water pooled in his eyes.  “I couldn’t have.”

His eyes slid closed, and he felt that water spill over his cheeks.

Crying.

He was crying.

Two years as a human, and he was still experiencing new human things.

The realization made him laugh, in spite of the impropriety of the response.  He laughed until Marinette had to take the laptop to keep him from knocking it to the floor.  He laughed until the hysterical guffaws gave way to hysterical sobs.


	7. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the chapter title covers it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd thought to get to THE scene in this chapter, but as it turned out, I had a lot more ground to cover before I get there than I thought I did. Why must I be so thorough?
> 
>  **Edited to add:** The last scene in this chapter was added much later, to support the true introduction of our villain in chapter 11. If you're here to find that, scroll to the end.

 Marinette ended the call with a quick apology, and took the laptop from their knees to set it on the ottoman.  When it was gone, Adrien doubled over with his laughter, resting his arms on his knees and his face in his hands and his unnatural laughter gave way to wrenching sobs almost immediately.  Heart breaking for him, she wrapped her arms around his shuddering shoulders and he leaned into the embrace almost desperately.  Finally, she simply lounged back into the corner of the couch and pulled him to half-sprawl over her, without either of them releasing the other.

She had no idea how long they stayed like that, he sobbing brokenly and she rubbing his back in soothing circles, but he slowly quieted until she heard only his ragged breathing.  “Adrien?  Are you awake?”

“I am,” he replied, his voice raw.

“Are you alright?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you, um, do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t—I don’t think that I can.  Not yet.”

“Okay.”

He was quiet for several minutes after that, and Marinette stayed quiet as well, understanding that he needed the comfort more than he needed words.  This left her to seethe privately.

From the little bits and pieces that Adrien had let fall about his life back home, Marinette had already formed an unfavorable opinion of Adrien’s father.  After their conversation with the Guardian, her opinion had plummeted and now she was using words like “despicable” and “contemptible” in her mental dialogue. 

The man had told Adrien he was a disappointment?

He’d complained about his weak magic?

Those things alone were reprehensible—but add to that the fact that he was **lying** about it all, chipping away at his son’s self-worth with things that weren’t even **true**?

It made Marinette’s blood boil, and only the fact that Adrien needed compassion rather than righteous indignation kept her from marching around the room, ranting her fury.  Even then, she was practicing deep breathing exercises to distract herself, and keep her temper from boiling over.

She brought one hand up and threaded it through Adrien’s hair, finger-combing it back from his face, and he stirred.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” he said quietly, his voice taut with shame.

“Adrien, no.”  She pushed at his shoulders and he sat up stiffly, refusing to meet her eyes.  “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I completely fell apart, in front of you and your parents and the Guardian…”  He trailed off, and scoffed.  “Who does that?”

 “You just found out—”

“That I’m a lot more powerful than I thought?  Yeah, but that’s a good thing.  Shouldn’t I have been happy about it?”

“Okay, Adrien, first of all: no.  More power is not necessarily a good thing.  I often wish that I was more like my mom, because then my life would be a lot easier than it is.  And secondly—you and I both know that **that** isn’t why you’re upset.”  He scoffed again and stood, pacing away restlessly.  She followed him, but didn’t crowd him. “Adrien, please.  I’m not going to push you to talk about it, but I’m also not going to let you twist this around to blame yourself.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Listen to her, kid.  She’s right.”

“Ah, what do you care, Plagg?  Just…leave me alone.”

Marinette bit her lip, and shifted her weight uncertainly from one foot to the other.  “Do—do you want me to go, too?”  He shrugged, and she tried to pretend that his indifference didn’t hurt.  “Okay then.  I’ll just, um, grab my bag and—”

“No, Marinette, that’s not—Gods.”  He scrubbed his hands over his face, and then ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry.  I just—I hate for you to see me this way.  But…I think I hate the idea of you leaving right now even more.”

She closed the distance between them, and wound her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to the middle of his chest.  “I can stay as long as you need me to, Adrien.”

His arms closed around her, and he lowered his cheek to the top of her head.  “Thank you,” he murmured.  “Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

Adrien woke sometime after midnight, with a pounding headache, a crick in his neck, and a warm weight on his chest.  He was disoriented at first, but it didn’t take long for the events of the evening to surface in his sleep-fogged brain.

The Guardian.

His ring.

His father’s lies.

And _Marinette_.

They’d fallen asleep on his couch, watching Netflix on his laptop. 

The computer had long since gone to sleep itself, and he wiggled the mouse so that the screen would give him some light to see by.  It didn’t help much, though.  He was still pinned beneath a slumbering Marinette.  He didn’t want to wake her, but the pain in his neck would not be ignored.  This left him with two options: pick her up, put her in his bed, and come back to the couch, or, pick her up, put her in his bed, and then crawl into it next to her.

There was no doubt which option he preferred.  Had she been Mer, he’d have taken that option without a second thought.  But she wasn’t Mer, and might well think him unforgivably presumptuous if he crawled into bed with her while she slept.

Then again, she had fallen asleep with him—on him, even—and it was his bed.

He heaved a sigh, and a cool breath of air fanned his face.

“What is it, Adrien?” came the tiny voice, and Adrien jumped.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Marinette shifted in her sleep, but didn’t wake.

“She’s a deep sleeper,” Tikki giggled.

“I see that,” he whispered back.

“So what were you just agonizing over?”  He looked at her questioningly, and she giggled again. “Marinette makes the same face when she’s over-thinking things.”

He smiled, and glanced at the young woman sleeping on his chest.  “I was trying to decide whether it was really necessary for me to sleep on the couch tonight.”

“While she sleeps in your bed, you mean?”  He nodded.  “Oh, good heavens no.  She won’t mind.  She might have a manic attack in the morning, when she realizes she’s drooled on you, but she won’t mind.”

Adrien grinned at her, and began the slow, careful process of moving them both to his bed.

 

* * *

 

When Marinette woke late the next morning, she had no idea where she was.  She rolled to her back and stared in confusion at the strange ceiling, trying to figure out what had happened.  She remembered being at Adrien’s house, and the Skype call, and the fallout of that call, watching Netflix with Adrien, and then…nothing.  She must have fallen asleep watching TV, which meant that Adrien had moved her into this room sometime in the night.

She sat up and looked around, taking in the details of the guest room.  The walls were a pale taupe, with generic seascapes adorning the walls.  It was a generous size for a guest room, and for that matter, the bed was generously sized as well.  The night stand closest to hers held only a lamp, the top of the dresser was bare, save for a driftwood bowl that had been artfully filled with woven spheres, and the nightstand on the other side—

She frowned.  The other nightstand held a wallet, keys, phone charger, a few Euro coins…Marinette’s eyes widened, and she looked at the pillow next to hers, seeking and finding the tell-tale divot that meant that the pillow had been occupied.

This was Adrien’s room.

This was Adrien’s **bed**.

The door swung open, and Marinette yanked the covers up with a shriek, startling Adrien badly enough that he sloshed coffee out of the mugs and onto the tray he held.  “Oh crumb, Adrien, I am so sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” he chuckled.  As he moved towards her, the little bit of liquid that had spilled floated up into the air and poured back into the mugs.  “I made coffee, but I’m not sure how you take yours so I brought it all with me.”

Marinette stared at the mugs in rapt fascination.  “That was amazing!”

“What?”

“That thing you did, with the coffee?  It’s like you didn’t even have to think about it.”

“Oh.  That.”  He shrugged, at on the edge of the bed, and placed the tray on the bed between them.  “Yeah, I guess I didn’t.  Sugar?”

Marinette pursed her lips, but let it go.  For now.  “Yes, please.  Cream, too.  I love coffee, but I’m afraid that I have to have it well-doctored.”

Adrien smiled, and proceeded to prepare her coffee as requested.  “Nino says that ‘if you have to put all that crap in your coffee—’”

“‘Then you don’t actually like coffee,’” she finished for him.  “Oh, I know.  He’s an absolute snob about his coffee.”

He passed the first mug to her with a grin.  “How’s this?” 

She took a tentative sip, and then hummed in pleasure.  “It’s perfect, thank you.”

“Good.”  He busied himself with preparing the second up, and shot her a sidelong glance.  “I, um, want to apologize again for last night.”

“Adrien—”

“And to thank you, for being there with me, even when I was…like that.”  He set the mug down and gave her his full attention.  “I know you don’t think I should be ashamed, but I am, so this is important to me.  Please, accept my apology.”

“Alright.  I accept your apology.”

His expression eased, and he lifted his mug to his lips.  “Thank you.”

“Of course.”  Marinette wanted to press, to talk about last night, but—he’d talk when he was ready.  Instead, she said, “I guess I ought to be getting back home.”  She chuckled, thinking of the grilling that Alya would subject her to.  “I can only imagine what Alya thinks happened last night.  I’ll have to correct her.”

Adrien set his mug back on the tray and regarded her with a curious frown.  “Does it bother you, for her to think that we were…intimate?”

“Yes.”  Marinette blushed, and ducked her head.  “But only because it isn’t true.”

“Ah.”  He tilted his coffee cup, gently swirling the contents.  “What if it was true?”

Marinette grinned, in spite of the fresh blush heating her cheeks.  “I’d probably tell her about it myself, as soon as I got home.” 

He choked on his coffee, and Marinette chortled.  “You asked!”

“So I did.”  He wiped the coffee from his chin with a warm smile, and Marinette felt her heart go all gooey.  Time to leave, before he had her melting entirely.

“Thank you for the coffee.”  She set her mug back on the tray, and slid her feet to the floor. 

“Of course.”  He stood when she did, and led the way out of the room. 

She bit her lip, suddenly feeling awkward again as she followed him to the front door.  “I, um, I’ll see you later, then, I guess?  Are you still planning to come over tonight?”

“I am!  1600, right?”

“Yeah!  Or, you know, whenever.”

He nodded, stopping in front of the door, and turning to face her.  “I’ll be there.”

“Good.”  She rocked back on her heels, smiling.

“Good.”  He propped his shoulder against the door, and smiled back.

“Oh, for crying out loud, would you just kiss already, so she can leave?”

“For fuck’s sake, Plagg!”  Adrien glared at the floating, smirking ‘cat’.   “I think I liked it better when you spent all day in your tank.”

Marinette giggled.  “He’s right, though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They kissed.

 

* * *

 

Adrien walked into the apartment at 1604, brown bag-wrapped bottle in hand, and Nino stomped in behind him with his arms full of Thai take-out.  Both girls jumped up to help them set everything out on the table. 

“Alya, if you order from that place again, I swear that I am going to break up with you,” Nino groused.

Marinette glanced at him sympathetically.  “Bad service again?”

“Awful service.  **Abysmal** service.  I will never go back to that place, I don’t care how good the food is.  I will fucking make it myself.”

“Aw, my poor Nino,” Alya cooed, wrapping her arms around his waist and leering up at him.  “I’d be happy to **service** you.”

Nino choked on air, while Adrien snickered.  “Jesus, Al.”  He glanced at the blushing Marinette.  “Keep it in your pants, will you?”

Alya pressed a quick kiss to his lips.  “Don’t you slut-shame me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.  I just don’t want to share you.”

She smirked knowingly, looked pointedly at Marinette (who was now very studiously ignoring all three of them), and then back at her boyfriend.  “That not what you said when—”

“ALYA!” 

“What?” she asked innocently, though she was fooling no one.

“Nino,” Marinette interjected loudly, “will you go get plates and silverware please?”

He relaxed, and flashed a grateful smile. “Absolutely.”

“Adrien, can you go help him?  We’ll need napkins, too.”  He nodded, and followed Nino back to the kitchen.  Marinette turned to a still smirking Alya.  “You, Mlle Horndog, can help me with drinks.”

“Excellent idea, _mon ami_.  I am quite… **thirsty**.”

They heard Adrien’s guffaw from the kitchen, and Marinette groaned.  “You guys are the worst.”

Alya bumped her hip into Marinette’s.  “You know you love us.”

Marinette heaved a long-suffering sigh.  “I don’t know why.”  But, she was smiling.

The four friends made short work of their meal, speaking little.  That Thai restaurant was notorious for shoddy customer service, but they managed to stay in business because their food really was just that good.  When they were done, the girls worked together to store their left-overs in the fridge while the guys washed the dishes and left them to dry.

Their tasks completed, Alya surveyed their selection of alcohol with a delighted smile.  Nino had brought over a bottle of rum and a two liter of Coke earlier in the day; Marinette still had a partial bottle of Scotch whiskey that that she’d been slowly sipping her way through for several weeks; Alya had both a bottle of tequila and a bottle of margarita mix—and Adrien’s choice was still hidden by the brown paper bag.  Curiously, she hefted it and slipped it out.

“Moscato?” she spluttered, laughing unreservedly at his choice.

He frowned.  “What’s wrong with Moscato?  You told me to bring what I like.”

“I did.  I know I did.  But I also said **booze**.”  She waggled the bottle, displaying the label for the others to see.  “This is glorified fruit juice, not booze.”

Marinette glared repressively at Alya, and took the bottle from her hand.  “I happen to like Moscato, too,” she protested, searching for their corkscrew.  “And even if I didn’t, there’s nothing wrong with his choice.”

“Thank you, Marinette,” Adrien beamed.

Alya shook her head, “Lightweights, the both of you.”  She mixed herself a margarita that was far more tequila than mix, and then moved out of the way to allow the others to make their drinks. 

Nino slipped into the space she’d occupied, and made a far more moderate rum and Coke for himself.  “You have an iron liver, Al.  It’s unnatural.  The rest of us are just human.”

Adrien nearly dropped the glass that Marinette had just pressed into his hand, and she steadied it with an encouraging squeeze to his fingers.  It struck him, then, just how **nice** it was that someone knew, and could look at him in that moment with support and understanding rather than curiosity and concern.

 He continued to stare at her as she turned to fix her own drink (whiskey on the rocks) and didn’t return to himself until Alya spoke again. 

“All set?” she asked, surveying the full drinks.  “Excellent!  Let the sleepover shenanigans begin!”

The rest of them followed her to the living room, where the TV and Xbox were set up for an UMS4 tournament.  “Shenanigans?” he asked, warily.

Nino shrugged, settling himself into the corner of their couch.  “She’s exaggerating.”  Then he considered his girlfriend’s shit-eating grin, and amended it.  “Probably.”

Marinette settled herself into an over-stuffed beanbag chair on the floor, and rubbed her hands together excitedly.  “Who’s going to start?”

“Not you!”  Alya and Nino said together, surprising a laugh out of Adrien.

Marinette pouted.

“Why not Marinette?”

“Because she is insanely good at this game,” Alya replied, turning everything on and grabbing the controllers.

Nino nodded his agreement. “It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that she’s going to win, but we play anyway because it’s fun and she’s usually a good sport about it.”

“The rest of us like to get a bit of playing in before she gets her hands on a controller and obliterates us.” She passed one controller to Nino, and offered the other to Adrien.  “You wanna go first?  Best of three matches between you and Nino, and I’ll play the winner.”

“Sure,” he said, taking the controller after a slight hesitation.  He’d been confident about his skill with the game, until they’d started talking about Marinette.  Now he was worried that he’d make a poor showing. 

He needn’t have.

The first match was surprisingly quick, and when it was over, Nino groaned in disgust.  “You’re almost as good as she is,” he grumbled.  “As good, even.”

The second match went the same as the first, rendering a third unnecessary.

“My turn!” Alya chirped, and Nino handed the controller to her. 

“It’s your funeral,” he said despondently, and Adrien felt a twinge of guilt.

“Maybe it was a fluke,” she said hopefully, taking the controller and changing characters to begin another match. 

Nino arched a brow.  “Twice in a row?” 

“It could happen.”

It wasn’t a fluke.  Adrien beat Alya as soundly as he’d beaten Nino, and she tossed her controller to Marinette with a groan after the second match.  “At least now someone can finally maybe knock Marinette from her pedestal.  Having my ass kicked is worth it to see someone take down the Queen.”

Marinette grunted.  “You can’t have my crown until you remove it from my corpse.”

“Whoa, dark,” Nino chuckled, then laughed outright when he saw the look she was getting from Adrien.

“I thought you said she was a good sport?” he said accusingly to Alya, who chuckled.

“That was before we realized that you’d actually be able to challenge her.”

Nino nodded sagely.  “You’ve tapped her competitive streak.”

Marinette looked back at him, determination writ clearly on her face.  “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

She nodded once, turned back to the screen, and started the match.

This time, the match lasted much longer, and Adrien found himself struggling to keep pace with her.  In the end, he did lose—but not by much.

“Well done,” he said, smiling.

“Anyone else need a refill?”  Alya asked, taking advantage of the lull between matches to get another drink.

Adrien and Nino chorused in the affirmative, but Marinette shook her head.  “Not more whiskey, but I’ll have some water.”

“Lightweights.  All of you.”

Nino, who was in the process of making a drink that had less rum in it than the previous had, scoffed. “I happen to like my liver the way it is.  Functioning.”

“I’m less concerned with my liver, and more concerned with not being hung over in the morning.”

“Hung over?”  Adrien was briefly confused by the term, and then it connected.  “Oh, right.  The miserable feeling you wake up to the morning after over-indulging.”

Alya and Nino stopped to look at him strangely, and Marinette giggled.  He shrugged, and held up a wine glass that was only half-full.  “It happened to me once, and it’s an experience I have no desire to repeat.”

Alya blinked.  “Oh, you precious sun-child.  How have you managed two years at University with only one hangover?”

Nino pushed his girlfriend out of the kitchen.  “Leave him alone, Al, you’re embarrassing him.”

They settled back into their places in the living room, and the players took up their controllers for the second round.  It was another close game, but to Adrien’s delight, he actually managed to beat Marinette.

Nino and Alya both whooped their joy, slapping Adrien on the back.  Marinette wasn’t exactly celebrating, and her lips twisted sourly, but her eyes sparkled. 

“Well done, Adrien,” she said, parroting his earlier words back at him.  “It’s nice to be challenged once in a while.”

“Happy to oblige you,” he returned, feeling a tad smug.  “Are you ready for round three?”

“Hoping to steal my crown, Adrien?”

He grinned.  “Ready to try, anyway.”

“Come on, Adrien!  ‘Do, or do not.  There is no try.’”

Marinette snorted and hit start.  “UMS4 now, Star Wars later, you nerd.”

“Star Wars?” Adrien asked, executing a complicated combination move that put him ahead of Marinette, if only slightly.

“You’ve never seen Star Wars?”  Adrien shook his head, and Alya looked at Nino in shock.

“I know, I know!  More than two years of friendship, and I still haven’t gotten him to watch it.  I’m a failure.”

“It’s never too late,” Marinette pointed out, taking back her lead.

“And no time like the present.”  Nino smiled triumphantly.  “I think I know what movie we’re watching.”

“Not until I beat—Adrien—”  Her fingers flew over the controller, stacking combos.

“Gah, how are you so good at this?”

“I played a lot with my dad growing up,” she said, systematically pounding his mech into the ground.  “And I played in a couple of tournaments in collége and lycée.”

“It shows.”  He tossed the controller to Marinette, who stood and put them on the shelf beneath the wall-mounted TV.  “I only started playing a few years ago.”

“What he means to say, is that he only started playing video games a few years ago.”  Nino shook his head.  “It’s crazy that you got so good so fast.”  He stood and stretched, then fetched his laptop from his bag and began scrolling through his movies, looking for Star Wars.  “You know,” he said absently, “sometimes, I think your life didn’t **start** until a few years ago.”

Adrien felt Marinette’s gaze on him, and avoided meeting it.  “Sometimes, I think you’re right.”

* * *

 

Justine draped herself comfortably on her lounge, set the opened jewelry box on the table before her, and summoned her slave.

"I attend you, Master," he answered from within his prison.

"Tell me, Nooroo," she said conversationally, "what you have seen of my pets."

"I have seen little of import, Master."

"Oh?"  Justine's eyes darkened with anger, but she kept her tone light.  "And who are you, to know what I will find important?"

Her slave lowered his eyes submissively.  "No one, Master."

"Then tell me, Nooroo, what you have seen.  Have they spent any more time together since yesterday?"

"Yes, Master.  They have been together more than they have been apart."

Justine felt her anxiety spike, though she kept it from her expression.  "And what have they been doing while they've been together?"

"Last night, they spoke with her parents on the computer, laid together on the couch to watch TV, and then fell asleep at his house," he reported dutifully.  "She went home this morning, and they were apart until he joined her there late this afternoon.  Since then, they've dined with their friends and are currently playing video games."  He paused, then added, "I believe he means to spend the night with her there."

Justine ground her teeth in frustration.  Clearly, the Elemental had been watching them as she'd instructed, but was he withholding some of what he'd seen?  Or was there simply nothing to report?  If the pair were sleeping together, then it did explain why she might have confided in him about her earrings.  Still, the girl was so terribly reticent about her magic...  She cocked her head to the side and regarded her slave thoughtfully.  "Do you truly attend me, Nooroo?"

Nooroo's eyes widened.  "I do, Master!  Of course I do!"

"Do you?  Are you sure?" she asked calmly, as if she were asking about the weather rather than questioning his loyalty.  "Because I set you to watching my pet mages two days ago, but you have had very little to tell me about them."

"Master, please!  I've told you all that I have seen, I swear it, and if you want to know more I can give you any details you wish!"

"Stop babbling at me," she snapped.  Justine pursed her lips, considering him, and then sighed.  The spells confining him also compelled him to tell the truth.  If he said that he'd seennothing significant, it meant that there had been nothing significant to see.   "Very well, then," she said at last.  "Continue to watch them; I will summon you again tomorrow."

Nooroo bowed his head obediently.  "Yes, Master."

"Attend me no longer."


	8. Stroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino and Alya get side-tracked during the movie, and retreat to Alya's room for some privacy. The walls are thin, though, and Adrien and Marinette decide to take a walk to escape their friends' rather vocal enthusiasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, why is it so hard to get to the good stuff? This chapter sets the stage for the scene drawn by [artisticFlutter](http://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticFlutter/pseuds/artisticFlutter), and we will actually see that scene next chapter. 
> 
> No, I really mean it this time! 
> 
> Seriously, how has it taken me EIGHT CHAPTERS to set up ONE sex scene? For crying out loud, this is ridiculous. Oh well. Thanks for your patience while I worked through my writer's block! I hope you guys like it!

Since Adrien was completely new to Star Wars, and had somehow managed to avoid picking up on the biggest “surprise” of the series, there was some debate over how, exactly, to introduce him to it.  Marinette saw no reason not to watch them by order of release, but Nino insisted on something called the _Machete Order_.  Marinette had conceded gracefully, though now, at the end of _A New Hope_ , she glanced at Nino in irritation. 

Or, more specifically, at Nino and Alya.

Adrien had traded places with her, claiming the bean bag chair for himself so that he could sit closer to the TV, and Marinette now sat in his spot in the corner of the couch.  Nino still sat in the opposite corner, but now, instead of sitting next to him Alya sat **on** him with one knee on either side of his hips and her tongue down his throat.

Marinette poked Nino’s side with her toe.  “Stop snogging, you’re distracting me,” she hissed, trying not to disturb Adrien’s enjoyment of the movie.  “I thought you wanted to watch this with him?”

“S-sorry,” he sighed as Alya moved her attentions to his jaw.

“They’re not bothering me,” Adrien said as Princess Leia briefed the Rebel pilots on their attack plan.

Alya shot her a coy glance.  “You’re just jealous that you’re not snogging someone right now.”

“No!”  Maybe.  “I just think you should stop dry humping and actually watch the movie.  Or get a room.”

“Perhaps we should.”  Alya kissed Nino again, and tugged his lip gently with her teeth.  “What do you think, babe?  Finish the movie?  Or say ‘good night’ now and go get more comfortable?”

She raked her nails over his nipple, through his shirt, and his breath hitched.  “Uh…com—comfortable sounds good.”

“You’re shameless, Alya.”   Marinette rolled her eyes, aroused in spite of herself, and focused her attention back on the movie.  It was either that, or imagine herself snogging with Adrien.  In all honesty, that was what she wanted, but their relationship was too new for her to just attack him out of nowhere, and he really was enjoying the film.

Alya pushed herself off of his lap and stood, then threw a glare at Marinette as she held out her hands to pull him up as well.  “Don’t you slut shame me either, M.”

“Oh, no, slut it up, girl,” Marinette grinned.  “Just try to do it where I can’t see you.”

“Spoil sport,” Alya laughed, leading Nino to her room.  “’Night, guys.”

Marinette giggled, and waved somewhat enviously at their retreating forms.  “Goodnight!”

“’Night,” Adrien called absently.

“Later dudes,” Nino replied, just before he disappeared into Alya’s room and the door clicked firmly shut.

By that point, the Rebel fighters were desperately trying to bullseye the exhaust port before the Deathstar came within firing range of their base, and Adrien was riveted.  When the credits began to roll soon after, Adrien stood from his place on the bean bag chair and joined Marinette on the couch while she picked up the remote to shut off the movie.   In the absence of the music, however, they could now hear the sounds coming from Alya’s room, and their eyes widened.

“Well,” she chirped, desperate to fill the void with something to distract from their friends’ noises, “what did you think?”

He chuckled, recognizing her over-loud question for the distraction it was.  “It was good!  The special effects are obviously dated, but it’s a good film regardless.”

Marinette gave him an amused look.  “Those dated special effects were revolutionary at the time it was released.”

“I’m sure.”  He shrugged.  “But that was what, forty years ago?”

Marinette returned the shrug.  “Doesn’t matter.  It’s a classic.”

“I can see why.”  Adrien smiled. “When can we—” There was a particularly loud moan from Alya’s room, and he stopped abruptly.   “Not subtle, are they?” Adrien remarked, giving up on trying to avoid the topic and tossing a look at the closed door.  “Are you sure she’s not Mer?”

“Definitely not,” Marinette snorted.  There was another moan, even louder than the one before, and she cleared her throat awkwardly.  “Would you want to go for a walk, or something?  They’re uh, they’re going to be like that for a while.”

“If you want to, but they’re not really—”  He was interrupted by a muffled obscenity in Nino’s voice, and an accompanying feminine moan.  He cleared his throat.  “Actually, yeah.  A walk sounds really nice.”

Marinette laughed.  “Come on, we can walk to the beach and back.”

“The beach?”  He stood, and pulled her to her feet.  “Want to go for a swim while we’re out there?”

“In the middle of the night?” she asked, frowning.

“Why not?” he shrugged.  “I do it all the time.”

“You…do?  Isn’t it dangerous?”

“No more dangerous than during the day.  At least, not for me.”  He chuckled softly.  “I grew up there, remember?  A midnight swim for me is no different from a midnight walk for you.”

 “Oh,” she blinked, and ducked her head sheepishly.  “Right.  I um—just, let me go and put on my suit, then.”  She walked backwards towards her door a few steps, and at his nod, turned to hurry through it.  She stuck her head back out long enough to say, “I’ll only be a moment,” and then shut herself inside.

Marinette opened her drawer to see that she had only one clean bathing suit: her oldest one.  She grimaced, but began changing.  She’d acquired several bathing suits over the last few years, since she’d started swimming daily, but all of the newer ones were either hanging in the bathroom or waiting in the hamper.  This one would do; it was still in decent shape, and it was the loveliest shade of rose that complimented her skin well.  

She grabbed her dress and pulled it on over her bathing suit, slipped into the bathroom for a couple of towels, and then met Adrien in the living room. 

He’d changed, too, she saw.  “You brought swim trunks?” she asked, pointing at his shorts and passing the towels to him.

“I wasn’t sure what I’d need,” he admitted.  “I wanted to be prepared.”

“Well, it worked out.”  She grabbed her beach bag, tossed her keys and phone into it, and then held it open for him to add the towels.  “Ready?”

In Alya’s room, the headboard began to slam rhythmically into the wall, prompting blushes to bloom on both their faces.   Adrien nodded his head emphatically.  “Absolutely.”

They were quiet as they made their way down to the street, trying to be respectful of the other people in the building.  Just because they were still up at midnight, didn’t mean that everyone else was.  Under normal circumstances, Marinette herself would have been in bed hours ago, and she knew the frustration of being woken by inconsiderate neighbors.

Outside the building, though, they relaxed. 

“I’m sorry about Alya,” Marinette offered, her cheeks warming.  She hoped he wouldn’t notice, strolling as they were down the darkened street.  “They’re always kind of noisy, but I can usually tune them out.  They only get like that when they’ve had a bit to drink.”  She shook her head ruefully, a wry smile tugging one corner of her mouth.  “I should have anticipated it, honestly.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he laughed, slipping his hands into his pockets.  “It was a bit awkward, but I’m not scandalized.  My people are not shy about their sexuality.  Honestly, it was just the noise.  I’m definitely not used to that.”

“The Mer aren’t, uh…vocally expressive?”

“Not as much, no.  And sound is different, underwater.”

“That makes sense,” she allowed.

He glanced at her assessingly.  “It really does make you uncomfortable, though, doesn’t it?”

“No!”  He raised a skeptical brow.  “Well, maybe,” she amended.  “It’s just so…private, you know?”  Then she frowned.  “Or maybe you don’t.  You keep saying Mer are a lot more open about sex.”

“More open, yes, and far less shy.  But most of us do prefer some degree of privacy.”

“Well, at least there’s that,” she teased, bumping playfully into his shoulder.  Before she could shift away again, he caught her fingers in his and twined them together with a gentle squeeze.  “Oh!”  She glanced up at him in surprise, and he met her blush with a warm smile.

“Is this okay?”

She nodded, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they walked through the darkened streets towards the beach. 

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien enjoyed their quiet camaraderie as they walked to the beach, their hands linked and arms brushing as they moved.  Marinette was a restful companion; she didn’t find it necessary to fill the quiet with incessant chatter, as Chloe did.  It was wonderful to simply enjoy the night, breathing in the scent of the ocean and soaking in the presence of the woman beside him. 

Wonderful—and torturous.

In the absence of conversation, his mind was free to wander.  Given the explicit sounds they’d left behind in the apartment, and the svelte body brushing his, his mind was fixated on the erotic. 

He had wanted her days ago, from the time she’d first touched the delicate skin between his fingers.  As they’d spent more time together, his interest and desire had only grown.  And now, with the sounds Alya had made fresh in his mind, he was hard pressed to think of anything else. Would Marinette make the same noises?  Could _he_ draw those sounds from her?  Arousal rippled through him anew.  He glanced at his companion, who was strolling beside him with a distant expression and a faint blush on her cheeks. 

Were her thoughts running along the same path as his?  Was she thinking about him making the same low, primal sounds that Nino had made?  Was she thinking about being the one to elicit those sounds?

Gods, he hoped she was.  Aside from a brief, impersonal liaison with an acquaintance the one time he’d been home since coming here two years ago, he’d only had the company of his own hands during that time.  He ached for the touch of someone else.  But, he wanted it to be someone he cared for.  He wanted someone who cared for him, and wanted him as badly as he wanted her. 

He wanted Marinette.

He swallowed thickly, and looked down at her again.  They’d reached the sandy path leading to the beach, and out here there were no more street lights to pollute the night sky.  The undiluted moonlight limned her skin, making her look ethereal.  Soon, she would have water droplets clinging to her body, refracting the light, and already he itched to kiss the water from her skin.  When he’d kissed her before, she’d tasted sweet, like coffee and cream.  How would she taste with the salt of the ocean on her lips?  He wanted to know, wanted to know that and more, but it didn’t matter if she was interested only in a midnight swim.

Adrien took a deep, steadying breath.  He wasn’t sure how this kind of thing worked, here.  He’d already indicated his interest in her, and he knew that she returned his interest.  At home, with another of the Mer, he’d address the question directly, and receive just as direct a response.  But here?  From what he’d observed, it was taboo to issue a frank invitation to have sex.  He shook his head in bewilderment.  Humans made things unnecessarily complicated.

“What is it?”

He started at the soft question, and looked at her with his brows raised in question.

She stopped, and pulled him around to face her. “You shook your head, and you’re frowning.”

“Oh.  It was nothing.”  He smiled gamely, grateful that she wasn’t privy to his thoughts.  Then again, it might make communicating with her a lot easier…

She looked as if she wanted to press him, but shrugged and slipped her bag from her shoulder to clutch it in her hands.  “This is where I usually leave my things when I swim.  Did you want to go in the water, or just keep walking?”

“Low tide, it looks like.  It’s a good time for a swim.”  He looked back at her hopefully.  “I’d like to go in, at least for a few minutes, but that doesn’t mean that you have to.”

“No,” she replied, smiling.  “I’ll go in with you.  I rarely come out here at night, but it’s beautiful.  Do, um, do you want me to go in first, so you can, um…?”  She trailed off, blushing furiously, and gestured to his shorts.

“Oh!  Ah, yeah, that would be—um, yes.  Thank you.”

Marinette giggled, and tugged her dress off over her head, revealing a bathing suit that he hadn’t seen her wear before.  It was simple, but the lines of the suit complemented her figure as if it had been designed for her.  She bent to stow her dress in the bag, and he forced his eyes back to her face as she stood and began to walk backwards, towards the water.

“I’m not going to go far, until you’re able to join me.  I love swimming at night, but I’m not ashamed to say that it frightens me.”

Adrien smiled at her admission.  _Smart girl_ , he thought.  Aloud, he said, “I won’t be long.” 

“Okay.”  She turned around and jogged to the gently lapping water, shrieking a bit when the chill water splashed up her legs.

Adrien waited until the water reached her waist, then shucked off his clothes and left them piled atop her bag.  He almost forgot to grab the leather thong for his ring, but remembered only two steps away from their things.  With the thong in hand he ran to join her in the water, anxious to conceal his nudity beneath its surface.

Even though it was late spring, with summer right around the corner, the water was cold.  It was no wonder that Marinette had squealed; without the warmth of the sun on his skin, or the protection of his natural form, the chill of it was a shock on his skin.  He, at least, could revert to his Mer form and be comfortable, but Marinette would not be able to stay in the water long without becoming chilled.  With that in mind, Adrien removed his ring as soon as he’d moved out far enough.  The warm tingle of his transformation washed over him and he sighed in relief.

“That was…wow.  Your transformation is an incredible thing to watch.”

Adrien spun in the water with a start, and saw Marinette treading water only about a meter away from him.  His eyes widened.  “You saw—”

“Only your transformation!” she rushed to assure him.   “I didn’t see, uh, anything else.  I promise.”

“Right.”  He relaxed, then wondered why he cared so much.  Hadn’t he **just** been thinking about being naked with her?  He gave himself a mental shake, and told himself to say something, anything to banish the sudden awkwardness between them.  “What…um, what did it look like?”

Her expression blanked in confusion.  “Look like?”

“My transformation.  I’ve never seen myself change.”

“Really?”  Her eyes widened, and he shook his head.

“Nope.  I always close my eyes, no matter my intention to keep them open and watch.”  As he spoke, he carefully looped the thong through his ring, and slipped it on over his head.  Losing it wasn’t an option.  Without it, he couldn’t leave the sea.

“Oh.  Well, it’s…otherworldly.  You glow, with this subtle light.  It’s…it’s like…oh, damn.”  Her brow furrowed and her lips puckered in thought as she searched for the word, and Adrien felt his lips curve.  Her expression was adorable.  Then her expression abruptly cleared, and she snapped her fingers in triumph.  “Bioluminescence!  You looked almost bioluminescent.  Then the light intensified at your head and kind of moved over you in a wave, changing you as it went.  It was amazing.”

Adrien looked at his webbed hands wonderingly, trying to imagine what she’d described. “I wish I could see it happen.”

“Maybe I could record it happening sometime, and you could watch the video?  We could delete it after, just in case, but at least you’d get to see.”

Adrien blinked, and then shrugged.  “Maybe.”  He wasn’t sure how they could do that, since cell phones and water were generally not compatible, but they could figure that out another time.  She was shivering, so they either needed to start moving around, or get out of the water entirely.  “Do you have Tikki with you?”

Marinette nodded and touched her earrings, which he now noticed were darker than they had been.  She tilted her head in question.  “Shall we head down?”

In response, Adrien only grinned and dove into the waves.  He sought and found the little eddies in the water that told him she was following, so he continued, leading her both farther from shore and deeper into the water. 

“ _Slow down, you crazy fish!_ ”  Her mental voice was tinged with laughter, nullifying any sting the words might have carried.  “ _Not all of us have fins, you know_.”

He slowed and turned to wait for her, smiling in apology.  “ _Sorry about that.  I’m still getting used to swimming with a human.  I forget that your underwater breathing does not come with a fish tail.”_

She swam closer, grinning at him girlishly.  “ _I wish_ ,” she returned, projecting an image of herself with a shimmering red fish tail.

Though it had been intended to be playful, the image hit him, hard.  If she were a mermaid…  His eyes drifted over her body, filling in the details of the image she had sent him—her breasts unbound, strands of shells and pearls draped over her hips, coral combs anchoring her beautiful dark hair out of the way, a mother of pearl necklace at her throat and rose red scales against her fair skin…

Marinette must have sensed the change in his mood, because her smile fell.  “ _Adrien?  Did I do something wrong?_ ”

He jerked his gaze back to hers, and in answer, projected her updated image back to her. Her eyes darkened, and her cheeks flushed.  “ _No.  Not at all._ ”  He flicked his tail lazily, drawing closer to her still-shivering body, and caught her hand in his.  “ _I quite like the thought of you as a Mer_.”

“ _O-oh_.”  Her wide eyes searched his, and the fingers of her other hand sought his.  “ _So do I_.”

Another flick of his tail brought him closer, until her cloth-covered breasts brushed his chest and her knee bumped his fin.  Her breath caught, and he groaned.  “ _I want you, Marinette_.  _I don’t know how to court you as a human male would—“_

_“Then don’t.”_

Her mental voice was laced with both desire and assent, and Adrien’s blood surged in his veins.  He bared his teeth in a growl, yanked her fully against him, and seized her mouth in a kiss.  He felt a tremor of nascent fear run though her, and immediately gentled.  “ _I’m not going to hurt you, Mari_.”

“ _I know_ ,” she replied.  “ _This is just a bit new, for me_.”

He pulled back to look at her face, cupping her cheeks in his hands.  “ _We can stop at any time_.”

“ _I don’t want to stop, Adrien_.”  She grasped his neck and pulled his lips back to hers.  " _I want you, too_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, ya'll, [mayuralover drew out what Marinette might look like as a Mer!](https://mayuralover.deviantart.com/art/Mermaid-Marinette-Elemental-by-callmecirce-720755472) EEEK! It's amazing, go look!!
> 
> Fair warning: the next chapter is going to be smut, right out of the gate. If you don't want to read the smut, make sure to READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BEGINNING. I'll tell you how far to skip down to avoid it.
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting guys, you're what brought me back to this!! ♡


	9. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette get a whole lot closer in this chapter (finally!) and then have a late-night heart to heart.
> 
> I have to give a HUGE shout out here to [artisticflutter](http://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticFlutter/pseuds/artisticFlutter) / [carnalrhythms](https://carnalrhythms.tumblr.com/), both for drawing [that lovely bit of art](https://carnalrhythms.tumblr.com/post/165280079387/smutember-day-twelve-fantasy-probably-not-what) AND for allowing me to post it with this story!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Another chapter! I actually had a lot of this one written already, because for some reason my muse made me write things out of order and then I had to keep playing with it until I could get the sequence of events right. Now that I do, you get two chapters in two days. Hooray! But first, I really need you to read my warning.
> 
>  **WARNING:** This first part of this chapter is **EXPLICIT**. I will not be updating the rating on this fic, because this scene can be easily skipped. If you do not want to read about Marinette getting her freak on with Mer!drien, then don't start reading until after the double-lined page break. Do not say I didn't warn you!
> 
> If you do want to read about Marinette getting her freak on with Mer!drien, then carry on. I hope you sinners like it, and that the reality lives up to the expectation!!

Marinette had been acutely aware of Adrien’s presence all evening, but had pummeled her suddenly over active libido into submission.  She’d distracted herself with food and drinks and video games and movies, but Alya’s antics with Nino had made it damn near impossible to avoid that particular train of thought.  Once they got outside and slipped into a companionable silence, she gave up and allowed the simmering arousal that had hovered just below the surface to bubble up.

Now, hanging suspended beneath the waves with his tail curled around her calf, his hands hot on her body and his lips feathering down the column of her throat, it came to a full, roiling boil within her.

His sharp teeth scraped over her pulse point; her fingers tensed in his hair, and she shuddered at the sensation.  She felt his lips curl against her skin, and he did it again.

“ _Your skin is sweet_ ,” he growled into her mind, laving the abraded skin with his tongue to ease the sting.  His hands, which had settled at her hips, slid up her sides until she felt his fingertips slip beneath the fabric of her bikini top.  “ _Is this alright?_ ”

“ _God yes,_ ” she replied, pulling at his hair to lift his face back to hers as his hands slid higher and his thumbs moved over the taut peaks of her breasts.  His lips were soft and warm, and kissing him was a joy she couldn’t get enough of.  She nipped playfully at his full lower lip and he pulled back to regard her in surprise.  The ambient moonlight wasn’t terribly strong under the water, but it was enough to make out his features.

“ _Humans give love bites?_ ”

“ _Some do_ ,” she shrugged, and caught at his lip once more.  “ _There are all sorts of people who like all sorts of things_.”

“ _I want to know what you like_ ,” he demanded, kissing her languidly and slowly thumbing her nipples.  “ _Show me_.”

He pinched gently with his fingers, then moved his hands up to cup her breasts in his palms.  She mewled. “ _Show you?_ ”

“Mmm,” he hummed aloud.  “ _Like this_.”

His mental presence in her mind somehow expanded, and she pulled back with a gasp.  Suddenly, she could feel what he felt: the press of her body along his, her tongue stroking in his mouth, her hands at his neck, the firm weight of her breasts in his hands, the desire thrumming through him, the possessive satisfaction he felt at holding her in his arms... It all flooded into her mind, not overriding the sensations she felt, but laying alongside them.

“ _How are you doing that?_ ” 

“ _It’s the same as sharing thoughts, you just have to widen the connection._ ”  He set his lips to the hollow behind her ear, and began kissing down her throat once more.  “ _Show me, Marinette.  Please?_ ”

She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of his lips on her neck and the sweet torture of his hands at her breasts. Then she mentally pushed it at him, willing him to feel it too.  There was resistance at first, and she growled, knowing it hadn’t worked.

“ _It’s alright.  Just keep trying_.” His lips moved ever lower, kissing over her collarbones to the upper swell of one breast.

Her breath stuttered.  “ _I am_.”  Her attention was wholly occupied with the feel of his hands and mouth on her skin, both from her own perspective and his.  It was overwhelming.

He abruptly pushed her top up above her breasts, exposing them to his gaze—and his mouth.  After an appreciative grunt, he began to gently knead her left side with one hand, but moved his right to her hip in favor of catching her right breast in his mouth.  She gasped again when his lips closed over the taut peak, engulfing it in heat, and she arched against him with a moan. 

“ _Fuck, Adrien_ ,” she panted as he released her nipple and shifted his attention to the other side.  “ _That feels—ah!_ ”

“ _Show me_ ,” he said again, this time with an edge of desperation.  “ _I want to feel—oh, gods_.” 

He released her nipple to rest his forehead on her shoulder, and she let out a breathy laugh.  She had finally done it, and apparently, he found it as overwhelming as she did.  She wrapped her arms tightly around him, rubbing her hands soothingly over the smooth expanse of his back, and marveled over the fact that she could feel it just as he did.

“ _Have you done this, before?_ ” she asked, her mental focused on their shared sensations.

“ _Yes, but it’s never been this…intense before._ ”  He lifted his head and slid his fingers along her jaw, making them both shudder.  “ _It’s usually more of an echo, but this…_ ” He paused to kiss her, running his tongue slowly over her top lip and then the bottom, before slipping his tongue inside the warm haven of her mouth.  “Merde.  _I am feeling you just as intensely as I am feeling things myself._ ”

“ _Yes, that’s it—ah—exactly._ ” She locked her arms around his neck, pulling her body flush against his, and reveled in their shared experience of skin sliding on skin. 

His hands moved to her ass to yank her tighter against him, and her legs wound around his waist almost of their own volition.  “ _Gods, Marinette.  I want you.  Please.  I want to be inside you._ ”

“ _Yes_ ,” she gasped.  “ _But how_ —”

“ _Like this_.”  He hooked one clawed fingertip into her bikini bottom, tugged it out of the way, and slid into her in one fluid motion.  They both froze at the shared, double experience of his invasion.  Not only could she feel thick weight of him sheathed within her, but she could also feel the tight, slick walls of her channel grasping at his cock.  If it had been overwhelming before, now it was mind-blowing.

Once she’d adjusted, both mentally and physically, she gave her hips an experimental roll, easing partially off of him and then impaling herself once more.  Delicious sensation shot through them in an infinite loop. He growled, and his fingers flexed on her ass, so she sank her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, and did it again.

“ _Fuck_ , _Marinette,”_ he shuddered _.  “Again_.”

She did it again, and again, and then fell into a rhythm that had them both hurtling toward the precipice of release at a rate that had her mind spinning.  His hips twitched between her thighs just as her own movements stuttered, too near to orgasm for control or finesse.

“ _Marinette_ , please, _I’m going to come—”_

She didn’t know what he wanted from her, to stop or to keep going, but it didn’t matter.  She was already there, in the grip of an orgasm so powerful that she couldn’t have stopped regardless.  Hers, and his experience of hers, tipped him over the edge and he followed behind her, his body arching and his his tail surging forward, pressing them back through the water as he spilled himself within her.

 

When they were spent, Adrien’s arms tightened around her, holding them together, and they hung there in the water for several long minutes as their hearts calmed and minds cleared. 

She had no idea how much time had passed, when she felt a gentle stirring at the edge of her mind. 

“ _Marinette?_ ”

“ _Yeah?_ ”

“ _That was…incredible_.”

“ _It was.  I’ve never—I mean, it’s never been like that for me before_.”

“ _It was the same for me_.”  She shivered, and he pulled back to gaze at her with a frown.  “ _We need to get back, and get you warmed up.”_

Marinette nodded her agreement.  Without their activity, she was becoming chilled—even with the warmth of his body still pressed to hers. He kissed her, then gently disengaged from her and tugged her bottoms back into place. 

Unbidden, her eyes darted down between them, and she jerked her gaze back to his face with a blush before she realized that she hadn’t actually seen anything.  Confused, she looked again, but there were only unbroken scales down the length of his tail.  Blushing furiously now, which was absolutely ridiculous given what they’d just done, she gestured vaguely to the relevant area.  “ _Where_ —?”

He blushed as well, and rubbed the back of his neck with a clawed hand.  “ _It’s uh, retractable, and prehensile.  I’d been fighting to, um, to hold it back, at least until we—_ ”

“ _Oh_!”  Her eyebrows flew up at that, and she dared another glance down, looking for a seam.  “ _That’s handy_.”

“ _It really is.  Honestly, I don’t know how human men can stand to always be so exposed._ ”  She giggled, then shivered again, and he tugged her back into his arms with a wry smile.  “Come on, my lady, let’s get you home.”

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

“What is it like, in Meriton?”  They were back in her apartment, snuggled together in her bed, and talking sleepily.  “I’ve been imagining a city just like this,” she waved broadly, indicating all of Marseille with her hand, “but now I realize that it must be very different.”

“It is,” he said thoughtfully, playing with her still-damp hair, “and it isn’t.  There are homes and businesses grouped together into neighborhoods and communities, much like cities here.  But, we don’t have streets, as such, and there’s no need for things like cars or elevators.”

“Hmm.  What about other forms of technology?  Like, computers and things?”

“We have those, but not like you’re used to.  Mostly, we use magic, and when necessary, we’ve found ways to blend our magic with your tech to make things work underwater.  Like, my father has a laptop computer that he uses for business interactions with your people, but I’m not really sure how it all works. I just know that it does.”

“Honestly, I think I understand more about actual magic than I do about technology,” she giggled.  “The Internet **is** magic, as far as I’m concerned.”

“It might as well be,” he agreed affably.

She smiled wryly and glanced up at him, her mind wandering back to his comment about his father’s business and wondering for at least the tenth time what business he might have on land.  Could she ask?  Or would that veer too close to uncomfortable territory?

He caught her look.  “What?”

Well, he asked.  She let out a breath.  “I was wondering what business your father has here.”

“Oh, that.”  He grimaced.  “He’s a designer.  He does other things, too—Agreste Industries is pretty diverse—but mostly he’s a designer and the bulk of his work is for humans.”

Marinette gaped at him.  “Desi—wait, designing what?”

“Clothing.”

“Hold on a second,” she demanded, sitting up to stare at him incredulously.  “You’re not—you don’t mean, **Gabriel** Agreste do you?” 

His brows rose in surprise, and he nodded.  “You’ve heard of him?”

“Heard of him‽  Gabriel Agreste is only my all-time favorite designer!  I’ve been following his work since I first became interested in fashion!  And he’s your father‽” 

“Yes.”  Adrien’s expression had gone flat, and his hand dropped from her hair. 

“That’s—that’s insane.”  She laid back down, draping herself over him once more.  “Or maybe it isn’t.  It would certainly explain why he’s such a recluse.” 

“Certainly.”

His voice had gone flat, too.  She glanced at up him again, and frowned.  “It’s sucks, though.”

“What does?”

“He’s an ass,” she stated matter-of-factly, surprising a laugh out of him.  “It’s hard to admire someone like that, no matter how talented they are.  Clearly, it’s time to find a new hero.” 

“He is very good at what he does, though.  Artistically, he’s a good role model.”

She shook her head firmly.  “Having a shitty personality ruins it.”

He laughed again, and wrapped her in a tight hug.  “You’re the best, you know that?”

“I don’t know about that,” she said, blushing.  “I just don’t like assholes.”

He laughed humorlessly at that, and released her to settle comfortably atop him once more.  “You’re really going to hate my father, then.”

Marinette smoothed her hand over his chest, debating with herself over whether she should broach the subject they’d been avoiding all day.  They would need to talk about it eventually, and there was no time like the present, right?

“What is it?”

 “I um,” she began hesitantly, “I think maybe we should talk about last night.”

He stiffened.  “Marinette—”

“Please, Adrien.  At least hear me out?”  He gave her a jerky nod, and she let out her breath.  “I’m worried for you.  You haven’t opened up to any of us here, not really.  And from what I’ve gathered of your life before, you didn’t have anyone there, either.  What—what happened last night scared me—”

He blanched.  “I’m so sorry, Marinette—”

“—because you’re obviously hurting and yet you refuse to share the pain.” 

“ ‘Share the pain’?” He repeated, baffled.  “Why the Gods would I do that?  My issues are my own; it would be unfeeling to burden my friends with them.”  She sat up again, and reached over to turn on the desk lamp.  He met her look of horror with one of confusion.  “What?”

“Is that something your father told you?” she asked finally, her voice soft.  He only stared at her, stricken, and she felt her heart break.  “Adrien, I’m sorry.  I didn’t say it to be cruel.  I just— _merde_.”  She took his hand in hers and squeezed, then pulled it to her lips to press a kiss to his palm.  “I was thinking about your room.”

“My—my room?”  He looked at her, startled and confused by the apparent non-sequitor.

“Mm-hmm.  When I woke up there this morning, well, yesterday morning now, I thought you’d moved me to a guest room.”

“Should I have—”

“No no, it was fine,” she interrupted, waving his question away.  “I just didn’t see anything of **you** in the room.  Not until I saw your wallet and keys on the nightstand.  It’s…generic, sterile.  Like you’d only just arrived, and didn’t plan to stay long.”

“Is that bad?”  He frowned, clearly still confused by the conversation.  “When Father bought the house, he commissioned an interior designer and gave them _carte blanche_ with both furnishings and décor, so long as the result was tasteful.”

“Adrien, there’s nothing wrong with the décor.”  She sighed again, and tugged her hand free to pull her hair up into a messy bun, securing it in place with a hair elastic from her wrist.  Then she reclaimed his hand in both of hers.  “It’s that there is nothing of **you** anywhere in that entire house.  You’ve been there for more than two years now, and yet Plagg’s aquarium has more character than the rest of the house combined.”

“Hey, you leave me out of this,” came a muffled voice from across the room, and Adrien cast an irritated glance in that direction.

“I—I don’t understand.”

“There are no pictures of anyone, no books beyond the shelf full of classics in the living room, no keep-sakes, nothing about your interests or hobbies—Adrien, it’s like you’re afraid even to share something of yourself in your own home.”

He didn’t answer.  His mouth opened, but no sound came out and he closed it again.

“When I was growing up,” she continued softly, “I was taught that life is meant to be shared—with our families, and our friends. But relationships aren’t only about sharing the joys; they’re about sharing the sorrows as well.  Sharing in someone’s pain, being there for them and supporting them, is not easy.  But it’s not a burden, Adrien.  It’s a privilege.” 

 

* * *

 

Adrien was reeling—again.

His father had always impressed upon him the importance of controlling his emotions, of maintaining a calm mien no matter what he felt.  They were elite, wealthy, famous.  He was the scion of the great Agreste family, and the public face of their corporation, at least beneath the sea.  Soon, he would be the face above it, as well.  He had to uphold the family name. 

Father had been equally insistent that under no circumstances was Adrien ever to confide in anyone about anything.  Their business was their own, and no one else’s.  And besides, how selfish would it be to bother someone you cared about with your troubles?  Didn’t everyone have their own troubles to worry over?   How egotistically gauche to burden someone else, when he was perfectly able to handle things himself.

And yet…

_Is that something your father told you?_

Her words echoed in his mind.  They’d hit him like a sucker punch to the gut, and now they ricocheted painfully inside his head.  He knew she hadn’t meant to be cruel.  Still, it had hurt—because she was right.  If what he’d learned the night before was true, he needed to question everything his father had ever told him.

 _If it were true?_   His gaze fixed sightlessly on the ceiling as his mind whirled. He’s accepted Master Fu’s words without question.  What kind of son would doubt his father that way?  What if Fu was wrong, or lying?  What if the ring was just what his father had claimed?  What if Fu had exaggerated his potential, for reasons of his own?

“Adrien?”

It had all seemed so obvious, before, but now….

 “Adrien!  Are you okay?”

Adrien ran his hands through his hair, then gripped it and pulled hard. 

“ **ADRIEN**!” 

He looked at Marinette, and brought her into focus.  The expression on her face told him that that was not the first time she’d said his name.

“Are you alright?” 

“I don’t know,” he said, baldly. 

“I’m so sorry, Adrien.”  She slipped her hands through his arms and tugged gently until he released his hair.  “I said I wouldn’t push, and then I pushed.  I should have—”

“What if Fu was lying?” he blurted, eyes locked on her face.  “Or maybe not lying, but just wrong?”

She blinked.  “About the ring?”

“About all of it!”

She shook her head.  “I don’t know about the ring, but I know that your father lied about your power, Adrien.  Plagg’s presence in your life is enough to convince me of that.”

 _Damn_.  He’d forgotten about that.  Hope, which had bloomed bright and sudden in his heart, withered.  Still…  “Plagg?”

There was a sigh from the far corner, and then the cat-like elemental floated into view, looking more genuinely concerned and apologetic than Adrien had ever seen him.  “Fu was right, kid.  About all of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, whatcha think? Was it worth the wait??
> 
> Thank all of you again for your support! The kudos, likes, reblogs, and especially your comments are what motivated me to keep at this thing, trying to make heads or tails of my muse's garbled inspiration. You guys are simply the best!


	10. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette talk about the events of last night, and a surprise guest drops in for a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, this fic isn't dead! It's taken a bit for me to get caught up on this and get back into the story, but I think I've done it. Have mercy, though, as my opportunities to write have been limited and this is completely un-betaed.

“Well, that was embarrassing.” Marinette said once the door closed behind Alya and Nino.  They’d had a late breakfast of crepes and fruit, but before that, she and Adrien had been subjected to a thorough scolding.  Alya had been thrilled to learn that she and Adrien had been together the night before but as the mom friend of the group, she’d been dismayed to learn that they’d been stupidly careless about it.  Now that breakfast was done and the other couple was gone to run errands, Marinette was left with a full belly and Alya’s sharp warning to ‘remember protection’ ringing in her ears.  She sank onto the couch with a rueful look at Adrien, who grimaced.

“I suppose it could have been worse.”

“Much worse,” Marinette agreed.  Hearing that from Alya had been bad enough; hearing it from her parents would have been beyond humiliating.   At least Alya had had a morning after pill on hand, which meant that she would _never_ have to discuss this oversight with her parents. 

Adrien ran his hand through his hair, tousling it, and shuffled his feet awkwardly.  Then he moved stiffly to sit beside her on the couch.  “Listen, Marinette, I owe you an apology.  For last night.”

“An apology?”  Marinette’s brows flew up, and she felt herself pale and then flush.  “For having sex with me?”

“No!”  He turned sharply to look at her, then angled his body to face her more fully and took her hand in his.  “Of course not.  I owe you an apology for being so thoughtless about it. I let myself get carried away, and there really is no excuse.  You have every right to be furious with me—”

“Adrien, no.  You heard what I said to Alya, right?  It was as much my fault as it was yours.  We’re both to—”

A rhythmic knock at the door interrupted Marinette, and she broke off to look at the door in surprise.  Alya and Nino were gone, and anyway, both of them had keys to the apartment.  No one else was likely to show up there unannounced and they weren’t expecting any deliveries.  She rose with a frown and crossed to the door.

“Can you see who it is?” Adrien asked, standing behind her as she peered through the peep hole.

Instead of answering, she stepped back with a gasp and unlocked the door, swinging it wide to reveal the diminutive man standing outside. “Master Fu!” she exclaimed, smiling.  “ _Nǐ hǎo_!”

“ _Nǐ hǎo_ , Marinette.”  He stepped in and pulled her into a gentle one-armed hug as Adrien closed the door behind them.

“It’s so good to see you!  But, what are you doing here?”

Master Fu smiled serenely and turned to Adrien with a slight bow.  “Adrien Agreste.  It is good to meet you in person.”

“Master Fu.” Adrien returned the bow deferentially, but Marinette could see that he wasn’t thrilled with the old man’s presence.  His polite expression was a mask, and his posture was stiff.  He cleared his throat.  “I hope that you did not come all this way for me.”

“I came to Marseilles for many reasons.  You are but one.”  Fu’s placid expression darkened a bit, and his gaze flitted around the room as if looking for something.  “Plagg is another.”

Adrien blinked.  “Plagg?”

“Yes.” Fu stepped into the apartment and made his way to the couch, scowling.  “He’s been a brat.”

There was a tinkling laugh and Tikki shimmered into view, her eyes shining mirthfully.  “He **has** been a brat, hasn’t he?” 

“Really, Tik?”  Plagg’s oily form oozed from Adrien’s ring and solidified into the familiar bobble-headed cat.  His acid green eyes were narrowed, and his tiny paws were crossed mulishly over his chest.  “You would condone such rank disrespect from these infantile mortals?”

Tikki’s eyes twinkled merrily.  “I would, when you deserve it.”

The guardian nodded, a faint smile now playing around his mouth.  “Why didn’t you explain things to him, Plagg?  Especially when he started asking questions?”

“Eh, didn’t feel like it,” Plagg said dismissively, shrugging.  Then his eyes narrowed.  “Why didn’t you tell him when you gave him the ring?”

Fu’s mouth flattened into a grim line.  “Gabriel asked me not to.  Said that he would rather explain things himself, in private.”  He sighed, and gave Adrien a weak, apologetic smile.  “I should have known then that something was amiss.  I’m sorry that I didn’t press for an opportunity to speak with you, as I did with Marinette.”

“It’s not your fault.”  Adrien looked down at the ring and twisted it around on his finger.  “You had no way of knowing that my father wouldn’t do as he said.”

“Well, I can explain things now.  And not a word from you, Plagg,” he added, narrowing his eyes at the elemental, and speaking over his whining protest.  “It’s past time for you to bond with your chosen, and you know it.”

“Ugh, fine,” Plagg said petulantly.  Let’s get this over with.”

“Charming,” Tikki deadpanned, rolling her eyes at Plagg.  Marinette giggled.

“What do I have to do?” Adrien asked, looking both excited and wary. 

Plagg shrugged.  “Eh, just say the words. The spell does the rest.”

Adrien blinked, surprised.  “That’s it?”

“For the most part, yes.”  Fu held up his hands, palms out, in a cautionary gesture.  “But, there is a bit more to it.  This first time is the most important, as it establishes the link between you.  You must ground yourself mentally prior to triggering the spell, to ensure a proper balance between you.”

Marinette nodded.  “I had to try twice before I got it right,” she admitted.  “I was too timid the first time I called her, and we were too out of balance to establish a true bond.”

“Okay.”  Adrien frowned thoughtfully.  “And to ground myself I, what?  Center myself like I would for any other casting, or something else?”

“No, that’s it exactly!” Marinette said, smiling her encouragement.  “Just prepare yourself mentally as you would for any other mage work, and commit yourself to it.  No doubts.”

“Just so,” Fu agreed.  “The words to call Plagg into the ring are ‘tides—”

“About that, Guardian, I was wondering if you could change the trigger for my spell.”

Master Fu looked at Plagg blankly.  “Change the words?”

“Yeah.  ‘Tides rise’ is booooring.”  As he spoke, Plagg drooped dramatically in the air, as if he’d deflated.  Then he perked back up, smiling widely and baring tiny, silver kitten claws at the ends of his cat-like paws.  “I was thinking that ‘claws out’ would be much more appropriate, given my current form.”

Tikki and Marinette shared a look, then dissolved into giggles. 

“No,” the old Master said, his mouth turning down in irritation.  “No change.”

“But—!”

Fu narrowed his eyes in warning, and repeated his answer firmly.  “No.  Change.”

 “Ugh, fine,” Plagg pouted.  “You’re no fun anymore.”

Fu humphed and turned his attention back to Adrien.  “The phrase is ‘tides rise’, Adrien.”

Adrien, who had been hiding his snicker behind his hand, made an effort to ban the humor from his face and cleared his throat.  “Alright.” He closed his eyes in concentration only to open them again almost immediately.  “Am I supposed to try this now?”

“If you like,” Fu said.  “Or we can leave you to meditate first.”

“No, now is good.”

“Would you, um, like me to leave?”  Marinette asked, her brow creased.

“No, that isn’t necessary.  Actually, I think I’d rather you stay.”  Marinette’s eyes widened a bit, and she flushed pink.  Fu raised a brow, looking between them.  Adrien cleared his throat again, ignoring Fu’s knowing look, then closed his eyes and shut out the world around him.  Centering was something that he did almost automatically at this point, but now, he made it a deliberate effort.  The quiet, detached calm came to him immediately and he immersed himself in it, drawing his power around him like a cloak.  Then he just as deliberately drew a deep breath, blew it out, and opened his eyes. 

“Tides rise.”

As soon as the words left his lips, he felt a greater power gathering around him like eddies of cool water.  Plagg slid out of his solid form and back into that amorphous, eel-like cloud, and was sucked into the whorls of green and blue power which sank into him and gathered in his ring. 

Adrien stared at it in wonder.  It looked no different than it usually did when Plagg was contained inside, an inky black that reflected almost no light, but it **felt** completely different—unlike anything he’d ever experienced in the past.  He was aware of every bit of water around him.  He saw it swirling about him in varied colors of blue and green, heard it in the tinkling bits that hung suspended in the air, the great roaring power of the ocean just a few blocks away, the singing pools deep down in the aquifers below their feet, even the water pulsing through their bodies, and he felt it, every last drop of it, as eddies of power that would leap to his command.  It was thrilling and terrifying and overwhelming, all at once.  He was tempted to be angry with Plagg for withholding this from him for so long, but no.  He could feel Plagg there, too, could feel his guilt.  Whatever the elemental’s reason for keeping mum, he regretted it—and had done so for a long time.

“Well?” Marinette asked, drawing his attention back to the three faces peering expectantly at him.  “How do you feel?”

“Incredible!  This is…”  He trailed off, completely at a loss for words.  “Is this how you feel, Marinette?  When you bond with Tikki?”

She nodded, grinning.  “Every single time.  It does eventually become less overwhelming, but the--the **rush** never goes away.”

“Hmm.” Fu eyed him critically, as if he could see the bond just by looking at him.  And for all Adrien knew, maybe he could.  “Can you feel Plagg?”

“Yeah, he’s—it’s like he’s in my head with me.”

“Is it a strong presence, or just an echo?”

“Strong, I think?  I can’t hear his voice in my head or anything like that, but it’s like I can feel what he does, next to what I’m feeling.” 

“Good,” Fu said firmly, his expression satisfied.  “The bond is secure, and balanced.  That is very good.  Now, what is the strongest source of water that you can feel?”

Adrien closed his eyes and “reached” for the water in the aquifers, drawing it to him and sifting through it with mental fingers.  In some corner of his mind, he marveled at the ease with which he could now do what he’d been struggling to do before, but the greater part of him was occupied with examining the power he’d drawn.  It was a pure, serene power, but vast and utterly implacable.  He released it, and tested the ocean’s power in the same way.  It was just as vast and just as implacable, but it had none of the purity of the aquifer.  It was raw and kinetic, almost violent.  He released that as well, and opened his eyes.

“I’m not sure.  The ocean is louder, I guess, and at first it seems to be the more intense.  The fresh water below us is quiet, but I think it has just as much potential as the ocean.”

Fu raised his brows, clearly impressed with the answer.  “Oh, very good, Adrien.  I’d have accepted either of the two, but your more nuanced observation is better still.”  He nodded approvingly and sat back against the cushions of the couch with a sigh.  “I think that it all, for now.  To dismiss him from the ring, the words are ‘tides fall’.”

Adrien felt a pang of disappointment, but nodded anyway.  He knew that any magical endeavor was as exhausting as manual labor, and even with the infusion of Plagg’s elemental power, he could feel the fatigue creeping up on him.  “Plagg, tides fall.”  He felt the incredible power ripple and flow out of him like water.  Everything faded back to normal and Plagg hovered in the air next to him once more.

“You did great, kid,” Plagg said in a rare show of approval.  “The first time doesn’t always go that smoothly.”

“Indeed, Adrien,” Fu said, smiling in warm approval.  “That was very well done.”

Adrien felt himself flush at the praise.  He didn’t know how to take it; instead of answering, he sought for something else to say.  “So um, what now?”

“Lunch, I think, and then a nap.”  He smiled ruefully.  “These old bones aren’t what they once were, and traveling has left me weary.” 

“Of course!”  Marinette bounced to her feet at once and headed for the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder.  “Give me about 20 minutes, and I will make _maman’s_ famous ginger-sesame jasmine rice and your favorite chamomile green tea.”

Adrien watched her leave the room, then turned back to Fu.  “Actually, I um, I meant, what now, with the bond?  How do I use it?”

Fu blinked, and shared a look with the two elementals.  Then he shrugged.  “You should start by practicing for short periods of time, to test your limits and build your endurance.  Beyond that, so long as Plagg is willing, you can use it at your own discretion.”

Adrien looked at Plagg, and then at the now silver ring.  “Really?  I can use it however I want?”

“Within reason, of course,” Plagg said, his eyes glinting mischievously.  “Don’t forget that if you try to abuse the bond, I will get to possess you and do whatever I want to with that body of yours.”

Adrien shuddered.  “Trust me,” he said feelingly, “that is **not** something you have to worry about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do ya'll want me to update next? _Haste & Leisure_, _Sandwalker_ or go straight into the next chapter of _Elemental_?


	11. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Master Fu shares his concerns about Mme Piers, and Marinette finally files her report with the University.
> 
> Warning: There is a scene that includes torture, though it is not described in detail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Another chapter? So soon? What is this?!
> 
>  **Edited to Add:** After the initial reaction to this chapter, I realized that I dove too quickly into the deep end with Mme Piers, so I went back and added new scenes in chapters four and seven. They aren't long, but they should help prepare us for the insanity in the second half of this chapter. Hopefully now, this chapter won't be as jarring. I've also tweaked this chapter a bit, to better flow with the additions.

“So, Marinette, have you filed your complaint with the University’s Arcane Department yet?”

“No, not yet.”  Marinette sighed as Fu set his teacup back into its saucer and pushed it back to join his now bare lunch plate.  “The administrative offices are closed over the weekend.  If you really think it’s necessary, then I’ll do it in the morning, before class.”

“It is necessary, my dear.  This breach of trust must be addressed.”  Fu folded his hands on the table, and gave her a level look.  “To be honest, Marinette, I believe that you should also request to be assigned to a new Master.”

“What?”  Marinette blanched, dismayed by the very suggestion.  Reporting Mme. Piers was bad enough; asking to be reassigned felt like a betrayal of her kind, well-meaning mentor.  “No!  I can’t do that to her!”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably in his seat and sighed.  “You might have to, Mari.  After we file our complaints, it’s likely that she will be suspended.”

Fu nodded in confirmation, his eyes sad.  “I am sorry, Marinette, but this is not something to be taken lightly.  No matter her intentions, she has violated your trust and the rules of our arcane community.”

“I know, Master Fu.  I will speak with the Dean of Arcane Studies in the morning.”  Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip against the urge to cry.  She wished now that she’d never mentioned any of this to her parents.  It had made her uncomfortable, yes, but was it really worth jeopardizing the woman’s career?  She had been so kind to Marinette, and she’d learned so much under the woman’s guidance.  Marinette swallowed the sob in her throat and stood, pushing away from the table.  “If you’ll excuse me, please?  I think I need that nap as much as you do.”

She stood, clasping her composure tight around her, and gathered the dirtied dishes from the table, leaving only the tea pot and Master Fu’s cup and saucer.  She left them in the sink to be washed later; right now, she needed to be alone with her tears.

 

* * *

 

 Adrien frowned at Marinette’s closed door, wishing that there was some way that he could make Marinette feel better about what they had to do.  She’d gathered the plates and things from the table woodenly, and though he knew that she’d been trying to hide her distress, he could tell that she’d been holding her tears at bay by the barest thread. 

“Adrien.”

He met Fu’s gaze and saw his own sadness mirrored there, as well as a bone-deep exhaustion that he’d not noticed before.  “What is it?”

Fu sighed and rubbed his eyes in weary agitation.  “I suspect that this woman’s motives are not as pure as Marinette believes.”

Adrien felt his frown deepen.  “Isn’t this something that you should be telling Marinette?”

“And if I did, do you think that she would listen to me?” 

He met the old man’s gaze steadily for a few heartbeats, then blew out a breath and shook his head.  “No, she wouldn’t.”

Fu smiled faintly and shook his head.  “She would dismiss the notion out of hand.  I will not suggest it to her until we have more than a suspicion mal-intent.”

“And you want me to, what, go looking for proof?”

“No, no of course not.”  Fu shook his head and waved his hands as if to banish the idea.  “I only want you to keep in mind the possibility, and keep wary eyes open.  Don’t forget that while Marinette is the one betrayed by Mme. Piers, she betrayed her to **you**.  Both of you are powerful mages in your own right, and when joined with your elementals, that power is increased exponentially.  Imagine what she could accomplish if she could gain control of both of you, and the magic you wield?”

Adrien gaped at him, aghast.  “Of course she wouldn’t!  It would be—”

“Unethical?” Fun interjected calmly.  “Kind of like revealing another mage’s arcane secrets, wouldn’t you say?  Especially when she’s sworn to protect that mage and her secrets, and it would have been easy enough for her to gain Marinette’s consent before speaking to you.”

“Gods of the Sea,” he swore, his mind racing.  When considered from that perspective, Fu’s claim didn’t seem so far-fetched after all.  And if he hadn’t come upon Marinette at the beach that morning, she would never have known she’d been betrayed and he would never have realized it was such a betrayal.  He blew out a breath and looked back at Fu.  “Piers didn’t know that we knew about each other.  We didn’t, actually, until that very morning.  She’d have never been caught.”

“Indeed.”  Fu lifted the tea pot and poured himself another steaming cup, then sat back to sip at the brew.  He looked at Adrien enigmatically over the rim of his tea cup.  “Perhaps you would benefit from a nap as well, young man.  And perhaps Marinette would benefit from some company.”

Adrien flushed at the knowing twinkle in the man’s eyes, but took the offered escape without hesitation.  “I think you’re right, Master.  Enjoy your rest.”  He stood and offered an informal bow, which was returned with an inclined head. 

At Marinette’s door, he paused to knock and wait for her invitation to enter.  When he received no response, he knocked again and called her name softly.

There was the sound of muted rustling, and then a sniffle.  “Adrien?”

“Yeah, it’s me.  Can I come in?”  He heard more rustling, a few beats of silence, and then the door opened to show a red-nosed, teary-eyed Marinette.  “Are you okay?” he asked awkwardly, feeling ill equipped to comfort her.

She sniffled again and stepped back from the door, allowing it to open wider.  He stepped past her into the room.  “Yeah.  I just…I feel awful, like I’m betraying her.  You know?” She shut the door behind him and leaned against it, looking defeated.

“I do.”  Adrien moved farther into the room, taking the opportunity to gather his thoughts without the distraction of her large, wounded eyes. He sat himself in her computer chair and faced her.  “But Marinette, she is the one who betrayed you.  This is a logical, reasonable response to that betrayal.”

“Not when it was well-intentioned!”  She pushed away from the door and flopped down on her bed to stare at the ceiling.  “She wasn’t trying to hurt me, Adrien, she was trying to help you!  Why should she be punished for that?”

“She still betrayed you,” he said softly.  “And no matter what her intentions were, she knew what she was doing when she did it.  She could have asked you first.”

“I already promised to report it,” Marinette muttered bitterly. 

Adrien winced.  He hadn’t meant to let Fu’s suspicions filter into their conversation.  “Marinette, I—I’m sorry.  I didn’t come in here to badger you.”

“I hate this.”

“I know.”

She rolled onto her side, pillowing her head on her bent arm, so that she could look at him.  “I’m glad you’re here.  And I’m glad you’re coming with me, tomorrow.”

Adrien felt himself smiling a bit, in spite of the circumstances.  “Yeah?” 

She returned his small smile and nodded, a fait blush staining her cheeks. “Yeah.”  

His smile widened.  “Me, too.”

She bit her lip, hesitating, then reached out her hand in invitation.  He took it and allowed her to draw him with her as she rolled to her other side, pulling his arm over her side as he settled behind her.  A bit surprised and more than pleased with this turn of events, he tucked himself against her body and tightened his arm around her waist to fit her more snugly along his.  She relaxed into him with a sigh, and Adrien thought that he had never been more comfortable in his life.

 

* * *

 

 Justine Piers maintained her mask of humbled contrition throughout her meeting with the Dean of Arcane Studies only by the barest thread.  At its end, she apologized to the whelps with every appearance of true regret, even going so far as to comfort the weeping, guilt-stricken girl.  Then, she schooled her expression into pleasant affability and made her way out of the administrative building as if she hadn’t just been humiliated, scolded like a naughty child and suspended from her position at the University. 

To all those around her, she seemed as she always did.

Inside, though, she was anything but calm.  Incandescent fury writhed in her breast, beating against the cage of her outer composure, but she would not give vent to it here.  Those insolent whelps had cost her too much already; she would not allow a lack of control to shatter the rest.  She kept her anger tightly leashed until she reached the sanctity of her home, and her well-warded workshop below.  Only then did she let the mask fall and indulge her rage.

How **dare** they interfere with her carefully laid plans?  And how had she not known what they intended to do, before hand?  With a scream and an angry wave of her arm, she swept her heavy walnut worktable across the room and into the wall.  The resulting crash of splintering wood and whimpers of her terrified Brownie slaves did little to assuage her.  Those two little brats had been the barest of acquaintances.  Neither had known anything of import about the other, she was sure!  The one was so pathetically shy, the other so utterly spineless and both of them so naïve as to make them puppets in her hands!  How could they have learned about one another so quickly, and taken action against her?  How dare they call her character and reputation into question, jeopardizing everything that she had worked so hard to achieve?   

She snarled and cast about for something else to destroy.  Preferably something alive.  She wanted to rail at Nooroo, to sever his connection to the brooch and drain his essence of power, but she knew better than to summon him with her temper in this state.  He was far too valuable to sacrifice, no matter how richly he deserved her wrath, and she snarled again.  One of the brownies flinched at her growl and she fixed her gaze on him.  He would do.

She seized him by the throat and pinned him to the stone wall with manacles of compressed air.  He struggled frantically, as if he didn’t know the hopelessness of his situation.  She smiled cruelly, enjoying his terror as much as she would enjoy his pain. 

She let him hang there and swung into angry pacing, and the two remaining brownies shrank further into their corner with strangled whimpers.  After all she had done for them, teaching them and honing their powers, how could they betray her in this way?  She’d all but taken that freakish fish boy by the hand and led him to power he’d never dreamed of!  She knew he’d done it; he’d all but glowed with raw elemental power that morning! How could he possibly have turned on her?  And to go behind her back in this way, tattling to the dean like spoiled children?  It was disgraceful!   It was utterly intolerable!  She had planned to be merciful, to return them to their lives after taking only their magic, but now?  No.  They no longer deserved such mercy. 

Justine’s eyes gleamed with pleasure as she considered her revenge.  They would watch without hope at their blood ran red from their bodies.  She would strip them of everything, drain away their very lives and their powers as she pared the skin from their bodies.  They would beg for death, but no.  They no longer deserved even that.  When they hung in agony on the cusp of death, she would  rip their souls from their bodies and bind them as her eternal slaves. 

Then her eyes fell on the suspended Brownie.  She had yet to slake her fury in his blood, but she would--and she realized then that on top of everything else, they would cost her one of her slaves.  She turned on the Brownie with renewed anger.  She took every ounce of her fury and poured it out on the wretched creature, her blade of air visible only after it ran with blood. 

When she was finally spent, there was little left of the Brownie that could be recognized as such.  She stood in the midst of her ruined workshop, uncaring of the blood spattered grotesquely over her face and around the room and oblivious to the trembling her slaves.  All of it was inconsequential in the face of her now-banked rage.  But soon, **soon** , her air blade would be slick with their blood.

She drew a deep, calming breath, tasked her slaves with clearing the remains of their brother from her workshop and replacing her work table, and went upstairs to shower before the blood could dry further.

Dried blood was such a nuisance to wash from her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Haste & Leisure_ gets the next update!


End file.
